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BY 

EEY. D. HOLMES, A.M. 



" What is truth?''— Pilate. 

" I am the v^ay, and the truth, and the life."— Jesus. 

"When I speak of Christian theology as a science, it should not be 
deemed as involving any unholy blending of things sacred and profane 
together :....! design by it to express the deep conviction, that 
the truths of i-evelation have a harmonious connection and inter-depen- 
dency with each other, and that it is competent to bring them all into one 
intelUgeut system, possessing complete philosophical imity." 

Dr. Hickok 



A U B U R IS^ : 
DERBY AI^D MILLER. 

1851. 



.V\C3S5 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by 

D. HOLMES, 
In the Clerk's Office for the Northern District of New York. 



LC Control Number 



tmp96 027605 



The character of the following work is so fully revealed 
in the table of " Contents," that little need be added by- 
way of preface. The leading design of the author has 
been to separate truth from error, and present it in so 
clear and convincing a light, that the honest inquirer 
will at once perceive that it is truth, and that whatever 
conflicts with it must be false. 

There is little danger that false systems, or theories 
of religion will be adopted, if the mind have a clear per- 
ception of fii'st principles. Where honest minds are 
conducted to erroneous conclusions, it is from indefinite 
views of first truths, or inability to perceive the relations 
of things, and accurately calculate moral results. 

Some of the subjects discussed in the following pages 
are in their nature metaphysical and abstruse. It has 
been the aim of the writer to simplify these, and bring 



■ IV PEEFACE. 

them even within the apprehension of the common 
reader, and also to show how they combine and harmo- 
nize with other truths with which the common mind is 
more famiHar. 

Should this humble effort contribute in any degree to 
overthrow error, and establish truth in any mind sincerely 
inquiring for it, the writer will have received his reward. 



^DlltotS- 



CHAPTER L 

Introductory. — Man Primeval.— What he was. — What he is. — 
What he must he.— General Unhappiness of Mankind.— True Re- 
ligion the Great Want of the World.— Design of the Subsequent 
Chapters, 



CHAPTER 11. 

The Word Religion.— Definition. — False Religion. — Error — Funda- 
mental and Harmless. — How distinguished. — Fundamental Error 
only, may create a Breach of Christian Fellowship, .... 



CHAPTER ni. 

God.— His Existence Necessary and Eternal.— Proof.— True Religion 
Revealed.— Necessity of Revelation. — The Book of Nature in Three 
Volumes— " Natural Universe," "Natural Reason," and "Natural 
Conscience"— All Deficient, or not Reliable.— The Bible.— Wesley, . 



CHAPTER IV. 

True Religion in Harmony with the Divine Nature. — It is Infinite, 
Intelligent, Benevolent, Love, Just, Holy, Unchangeable, Spiritual. 
—Its Relations to the Trinity.— Ciii Bono of the Trinity.— Taylor.— 
Neander, 42 



CONTEXTS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PAGE 

Practical Religion.— Relations and Duties of Men.— Harmony of Re- 
ligion as to its Doctrines and Duties. — Practical Religion includes 
Duties to God — Duties to Ourselves — Duties to Men generally — 
Duties to the State. — Civil Government ordained of God. — To what 
Extent Men are bound by the Enactments of the State.— Dr. Dick.— 
Closing Remarks, 2G2 



CHAPTER I. 

INTEODUCTORY. 

" MAN PRIMEVAL." WHAT HE WAS, WHAT HE IS, AXD MUST BE, 

GENERAL UXHAPPINESS. TRUE RELIGION THE GREAT WANT OF 

THE WORLD. DESIGN OF THE SUBSEQUENT CHAPTERS. 

" Eternal Spirit ! God of truth ! to whom 
All things seem as they are ; thou who of old 
The prophet's eye unsealed, * * * 
****** 

My eye unscale ; me what is substance teach, 

And shadow what, while I of things to come, 

As past rehearsing, sing the course of time, 

The second birth, and final doom of man."— Pollok. 

"And God said, Let us make man in our 
image, after our likeness." It was the glory of 
"man primeval" that he was created in the likeness 
of God. This consisted in spirituality, intellect, 
knowledge, purity, and power. There was also 
such a moral relation between the Creator and 
creature, that the former became of right the 
supreme object of worship, and the latter possessed 
a constitution exactly suited to his condition,—^ 
adapted to feel the force of moral obligation — and 



10 INTEODUCTORY. 

capable of responding to the high claims of 
Divinity. 

Being created under moral law and government, 
all the posterity of Adam have their existence 
under the same condition and arrangement, and, 
by virtue of their nature and relations, possess a 
moral character from and after the first moment 
of earthly being. But the stamp w^hich Divinity 
placed on humanity was not ineffaceable ; nor 
was it so stereotyped and changeless, as to be 
susceptible of no increase, or higher degree of 
perfection. It was held contingently : " If thou 
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou 
doest not well, sin lieth at the door." 

As the mind of man unfolds its powers and 
advances in knowledge, his perception of God, 
and of what is true and right in respect to him, 
and his consciousness of moral character, good or 
bad, attain to a corresponding precision and 
maturity. If the facilities are perfect, and per- 
fectly improved, there will be perfection in his 
knowledge of God, his conformity to the divine 
law, and in his moral and religious character. 
Under such conditions, and with such facilities 
and capacities, .our race was first created, and 
with proper attention to the dictates of God and 



PURE GOLD. 11 

duty, an uninterrupted and ever-increasing per- 
fection, would have been the condition and inher- 
itance of humanity. But our present business is 
not so much with man as he was, and would have 
been, had sin never disarranged his relations, per- 
verted and misdirected his powers, and corrupted 
his character, as with man as he is, as he may be, 
and must be, if he would harmonize with God, and 
possess the endless and felicitous destiny allotted 
to holy beings. 

What he is by constitution we need not par- 
ticularly inquire. There is little room for dis- 
pute or speculation here. It is generally con- 
ceded that he possesses a threefold constitution, 
physical, intellectual, and moral ; and thus marked 
and distinguished, he is the highest and most per- 
fect link in that chain of being, whose existence 
is adapted to this world, while beyond him, and 
as allied to a higher life, the chain reaches onward 
still, until lost in the infinite nature of God. 

What he is in his moral and religious character 
as distinguished from the holiness and rectitude 
with which he came from the hand of God, will 
be particularly and thoroughly discussed in a sub- 
sequent chapter. For the present, we need only 
say, it is obvious, the race of man as a whole, 



12 INTRODUCTORY. 

has fallen far below the original standard, — has 
removed itself to a position morally distant from 
God — and is in a state of depravity, and aliena- 
tion from the life of heaven. It is also obvious, 
that there is a natural and constant tendency to 
jfly off still farther from the fountain of holiness, 
and source of true bliss. Dispossessed of holiness 
and love, there is no admiration of these elements 
of moral character in God. The power of mutual 
attraction is lost, and like moving bodies deprived 
of the centripetal force, they are ever removing 
to a greater distance from the centre. 

What men may be, fallen as they are, is fore- 
shadowed by their aspirations and hopes. A con- 
stitution, which, amid prevailing ignorance and 
depravity, desires, hopes for something better, is 
susceptible of improvement, and if fallen, may be 
restored. There may be no power in itself to 
retrieve misfortune, remove guilt, or atone for 
sin ; but the fact that there is a consciousness of 
moral imperfection and unhappiness, — a desire 
for such a change as will forgive guilt, relieve 
conscience and better the condition, is proof 
of capacity to enjoy an improved state, could such 
state be acquired. 

What men must be, that union with God 



PUEE GOLD. 13 

may be restored and maintained, and their nature 
be fed with the bliss for \Yhich they were formed, 
is plainly inferable from the character of God, 
the perfection of his law, and the exalted objects 
of his government. The first is holy, the second 
like its author, and the third designed to confer 
the highest good upon intelligent beings. 

Though God created all men for happiness, (and 
he cannot be impeached either in creation or 
government,) yet it is a fact that all are not 
happy ; indeed there is felt to be a general lack 
of true, satisfying enjoyment. We see much of 
what claims to be happiness ; but if it be analyzed 
it will be found undeserving the name. The 
most of it may be resolved into a sprightliness or 
vivacity, worn upon the surface for sinister ends, 
or to conceal from public view, a sad and bleeding 
heart. The smile that appears upon the face of 
society is no proof that its heart is at ease, or that 
it rests upon a solid substratum of happiness. 

This vacuum, this desideratum, cannot be filled, 
or supplied, by human devices or conventional 
arrangements. Men may succeed for a while in 
killing time, and driving away dull care, but in 
the end the disease is neither cured nor mitigated. 
The artifices resorted to have no power to expel 
2 



14 INTRODUCTOEY. 

the demon — the unsubstantial pleasures indulged 
in soon pall upon the taste, and a feeling of deep 
disgust fills the mind with horrible sensations. 

*' Vanity of vanities, — all is vanity." 

To a mind not at rest upon the true moral 
basis, the largest gifts of the world betray their 
own emptiness, 

" as the vapor flies, 



Dispersed by lightest blasts, so fleet these joys. 
And leave no trace behind." 



For this sad, unhappy condition of humanity, 
there is a remedy ; it is found in the knowledge 
and enjoyment of God. As God is the sum of all 
possible perfection, he is the only source of real, 
imperishable good to his creatures. To seek this 
good elsewhere, is the sure road to disappointment 
and misery. Moreover, the deficiency, the vacu- 
ity, does not relate so much to the physical and 
intellectual nature, as to the moral ; and this is 
that department of the man, most intimately allied 
to the Deity. The natural world supplies the 
physical wants of men, with little or no regard to 
moral principle or character ; and though God 
be the highest subject of thought, yet the intellect 



PUEE GOLD. 15 

finds in the physical and intelb'gent universe, many- 
lofty themes exclusive of Jehovah. But without 
God, the moral nature is an anomaly. Its wants 
are unsupplied : its susceptibilities exist without 
a sphere of action, without the power of suscep- 
tion. We conclude, then, that the great want of 
the world, the want of society, the want of in- 
dividual man, is, True Religion. 

In the following pages, we shall aim to present 
a correct portraiture of true religion, in its rela- 
tions to God, its adaptation to men, and its self- 
harmony and unity. We shall also show how 
it is distinguished by infallible tests from that 
which is false and counterfeit. 

" So artists melt the sullen ore of lead, 
By heaping coals of fixe upon its head ; 
In the kind warmth the metal learns to glow, 
And pure from di'oss, the silver runs below." 



CHAPTER II. 

THE WORD RELIGION, DEFINITION. — FALSE RELIGION. — ERROR. 

FUNDAMENTAL AND HARMLESS. HOW DISTINGUISHED. FUNDA- 
MENTAL ERROR ONLY, MAY CREATE A BREACH OF CHRISTIAN 
FELLOWSHIP. 

"True religion 
Is always mild, propitious, and humble, 
Plays not the tyrant, plants no faith in blood ; 
Nor bears destruction on her chariot-wheels; 
But stoops to polish, succor, and redress, 
And builds her grandeur on the pubMc good." 

Miller's Mahomet. 

" Religious lustre is, by native innocence, 
Divinely pure, and simple from all arts." 

Rowe's Tamerlane. 

No word is more common than religion, — no 
ideas more familiar than those which imply moral 
obligation. This term, religion, and the ideas 
suggested by it, belong exclusively to no age or 
country, are peculiar to no nation or tribe of 
humanity, and depend for their existence, upon 
no particular stage of civilization or refinement. 

A conception of the mysterious, spiritual, divine 
and infinite, more or less true, consistent, and 
perfect, is coextensive with the human race, and 



PURE GOLD. 17 

doubtless forms an element of thought and feeling 
with all intelligent beings. And yet the views of 
most men relative to this subject, are so vague 
and indeterminate, so irrelevant to any common 
centre, so destitute of point or aim, that the great 
design of religion is lost, — the heart and life re- 
main unimproved, or seem formed on the prin- 
ciples of atheism. All men acknowledge religion, 
yet few seem prepared to say what it is, describe 
the relations they sustain to it, or understand how 
its exalted purposes relative to men are to be 
achieved, and the objects of its faith and hope 
made blissful and eternal realities. 

No moral advantages of high value, do, or can 
flow from belief in God, unless the ideas formed 
of him be true and just. And in like manner, • 
religion is little better than none, often worse, 
unless it be genuine in its source, correct and 
concentrative in its aims, and unless its elements 
are clearly perceived and rightly applied. In the 
department of religion, the questions most im- 
portant are these : — What is true religion ? Do 
I embrace it, in its doctrines, experience, and 
practice ? The first question being correctly 
answered, it will be easy to determine our rela- 
tion to the second. 

2* 



18 RELIGION. 

The term religion, is from the Latin word 
" religio," for which various etymologies have 
been proposed. The most probable appears to 
be " religando," from " religo," a verb which sig- 
nifies to bind, to make fast. The moral idea con- 
veyed is that of obligation to some power, or 
being above us, and to whom we are responsible ; 
and this is the ruling principle of all true religion. 
Any word selected to express just views of re- 
ligion, must be adapted to describe the obligations 
involved in the subject, and which bind the whole 
intelligent creation to God, and man to man. 
Neither the word religion, nor the thoughts ex- 
pressed or suggested by it, are the fruit of Chris- 
tianity, except in the sense that Christianity is " as 
old as the creation." 

Since intelligent moral beings were first pro- 
duced by the power of God, the idea of moral 
obligation has been present to the mind ; nor will 
it ever be wholly lost while the mind is capable 
of retaining a conception of a divine creator and 
governor. And since language has been employed 
as the signs of ideas, the term religion, and others 
equivalent to it, have been used to indicate the 
nature of the subject, and convey from mind to 
mind its glowing thoughts. 



PURE GOLD. 19 

Religion, as in common usage, and in , the 
general sense in which we now employ the term, 
acknowledges God, describes his character and 
relations to his creatures, expresses our bond or 
obligation to the Creator, and prescribes to us the 
path of obedience and duty. ■ It also enjoins piety, 
holiness, reverence, and a strict attention to our 
relative engagements, as fellow-creatures, or 
creatures of the same God. To be more syste- 
matic, as well as more specific, we may define 
religion — 

First, as to its theology. This includes gene- 
rally, all moral truth; but especially whatever 
is essential as a doctrinal basis, — the being and 
perfections of God, — the revelation of his will to 
men, — human responsibility, — a future state — and 
future retribution. Considered in respect to a 
fallen race, it would also include depravity, and 
redemption. 

Secondly, as to its morality and devotion. It 
implies moral rectitude and union with God ; 
piety and purity of heart ; an assimilation of 
character to the moral likeness of God, and the 
exhibition of godliness and benevolence in the 
life. 

Thirdly, the term religion is also sometimes 



20 EELIGIONT. 

applied to the rites and ceremonies of religious 
worship. In this use of it, it designates the 
manner and form in which men outwardly ex- 
press their religious feelings, and claim the recog- 
nition of the Deity. 

As there is only one true God, and religion 
is founded on the being and nature of God, there 
can be only one true religion as derived from 
him. • But as there are many false gods, and 
false views of the true God, so, there may be, 
and are, many false religions, and false views 
of true religion. We do not say that every mis- 
conception of God changes him into a false God, 
or deprives us of the salutary moral influence 
arising from faith in his existence and an acknowl- 
edgment of his authority; nor is it true that 
every error in respect to religion, necessarily 
vitiates the whole system, and renders it to us, 
no better than a false religion. 

Though all error has the same intrinsic charac- 
ter, in the sense of being opposed to truth, yet all 
kinds and degrees of error are not the same in 
their power to counteract and subvert truth, and 
vitiate the mind and heart. Some errors are 
simply mistakes of honest minds ; while others 
are imbibed through pride of intellect or opinion, 



PUEE GOLD. 21 

or hostility to the truth. In some cases the mmd 
fails to perceive and grasp the truth through 
involuntary defect ; but in others, and not a tew, 
the heresy is chargeable to a vicious heart, and a 
mind which is " enmity against God." Sometimes 
the error is of a trifling character, — is merely an 
excrescence, or ill-sorted and unnecessary appen- 
dage, and does not materially mar the perfection 
of that system of truth with which it has an un- 
natural connection. But in numicrous instances 
the heresy is of so fundamental a nature, as to 
paralyze the influence of all truths with which 
it is associated, and send its poisonous leaven 
through every part. 

These distinctions, and others of a similar de- 
scription, should be made. No views presented in 
the following chapters must be so construed or 
understood, as to imply a want of charity for those 
who have mistaken their way, so as not to have 
embraced the exact truth in every respect. And 
yet, we must repeat the remark already made, 
that there is only one true religion : that is, one 
system of religious doctrine derived from God, 
and entitled to be called true ; and . all true relig- 
ious influence and power, must flow from that 
system. When the system of truth becomes so 



22 RELIGION. 

incorporated with error, that the truth takes a 
subordinate place, and yields to heresy the leading 
controlling influence, it ceases to be truth as a 
system, and becomes a system of falsehood, and no 
elements of truth embraced in it, can redeem it 
from the charge. For example, Mohammedanism 
embraces the fundamental truth, "there is one 
God," and with this there are other truths of less 
importance ; but there is so much error — gross 
and corrupting error, as effectually to pervert the 
truth it contains, and stamp the system with the 
unmistakable marks of falsehood and imposture. 

As examples of the opposite character, errone- 
ous views may be formed respecting the possibility 
of apostasy after true conversion, or in regard to 
the validity of particular forms of baptism ; or in 
respect to church ordinances and forms of gov- 
ernment, and several other things of this nature, 
without material injury. Though it is the duty 
of all to make the best possible use of the advan- 
tages they possess for discovering and embracing 
exact truth on these, as on other points of Christian 
doctrine, yet when errors of this class are admitted 
they do not necessarily subvert true religion, and 
should not create a breach of Christian fellowship. 
They are not wholly indifferent, or unimportant 



PUEE GOLD. ■ 23 

in their bearings and fruits, yet they have com- 
paratively Httle power to modify or give character 
to the system of religious truth; and in most 
instances, other things being right, they are not 
taken into account in Christian experience, and 
the religious life. 

The preceding remarks are only preliminary to 
our main design, upon which we shall enter more 
directly in the next chapter. 



CHAPTEK III. 

GOD. — HIS EXISTENCE NECESSAKT, AND ETERNAL. — PROOF. — TRl^E 

RELIGION REVEALED. NECESSITY OF REVELATION. THE BOOK 

OF NATURE IN THREE VOLUMES. " NATURAL UNIVERSE." " NAT- 
URAL REASON." "natural CONSCIENCE." ALL DEFICIENT, OR 

NOT RELIABLE. THE BIBLE. WESLEY. 

"—For me, 
I ask no higher oflace than to fling 
My spirit at thy feet and cry thy name, 
God! through eternity." — Bailey's Festus. 

In delineating the nature of true religion, we 
must commence with that which is fundamental. 
It has been intimated already, that all religion 
whether true or false is founded on the doctrine 
and fact of divine existence. There can be no 
religion where there is no God, or no knowledge 
of God, since all religion refers directly or indi- 
rectly to God, as its divine source. All true 
religion must be based upon true views of the 
divine existence, and must harmonize with what 
he has been pleased to reveal of his infinite char- 
acter and perfections. In so far as there is a 



PUEE GOLD. 25 

contrariety between the nature of our religion 
and the character of God, in the same degree is 
our religion false. 

\ As to the being of God, not only does true 
religion recognize it, but also that his existence 
is necessary and eternal. The periodical decay 
and renovation of gods, as well as men, and the 
physical universe — a notion entertained by some 
portions of the heathen world, is repudiated as 
well by reason as revelation. Indeed all views 
of God which make him less than infinite in his 
relations to duration, necessarily refute themselves. 
If God be not eternal he is not infinite, and if he 
be not infinite he is not God. To be infinite is 
to be eternal. To suppose him infinite and not 
eternal, is to suppose infinitude without eternity, 
which is absurd, and also that an infinite being 
may arise out of nothing, or be produced by a 
finite cause. 

Again, if God be infinite and eternal, then is 
his existence necessary. If his existence be not 
necessary, then must there have been a period in 
duration when he was not, or might not have 
been. But if we suppose a period in duration 
when he was not, we are again reduced to the 
absurdity before stated, of admitting that he arose 
3 



26 EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

out of nothing, or was produced by a finite cause ; 
and to suppose a point in his existence when he ' 
might not have been, is to admit the possibility of 
a future period when he will cease to exist. Thus 
there is no choice between embracing God as in- 
finite in his character, and necessary and eternal 
in his existence, and wrecking the hopes of all 
holy intelligences by supposing a time, or period 
in duration, when there may be no God in being. 
If the foundation be removed, what shall the 
righteous do ? 

Moreover, an argument for an eternal, un- 
caused cause, of simple construction and con- 
vincing force, may be derived from the self-evi- 
dent fact of material and intellectual existence. 
We are, therefore, God is, always has been, &nd 
always must be. The fact that anything now 
exists is proof positive that something must 
always have been. This argument rests upon that 
self-evident truth which forms an axiom in all 
philosophy, physical, intellectual and moral — 
"every effect must have a cause." 

If we suppose a time when nothing existed, we 
must also suppose a time when something first 
began to be, since something now exists ; but if 
we suppose a time when something first began to 



PURE GOLD. 27 

be, we must admit that something arose out of 
nothing, or that nothing produced something. 
This is absurd, because it supposes an effect with- 
out a cause. Since then, we must admit that 
some thing, or being, has always existed, we have 
only to inquire further as to the nature of that 
existence. It cannot be matter, unintelligent and 
unorganized matter, because there is that in exist- 
ence which is superior to matter. There is in- 
telligence in existence, and matter cannot produce 
intelligence. There are various forms of organ- 
ized matter that could not be produced by matter 
in its elementary state. Matter is also found in 
motion, and variously and mysteriously connected 
with intelligence, and with the marks of con- 
trivance and design. Mere matter is incapable 
of producing these phenomena. Intelligence now 
exists, and as a stream cannot of its own force rise 
higher than its fountain, and every effect must 
have a cause, there is no other alternative than 
to conclude that intelligence has always existed. 
In admitting the eternity of intelligence, we are 
also bound to admit it in its highest and most 
perfect form. To allow intelligence in an inferior 
and imperfect form will not meet the demands 
of the case, since we find it in existence in forms 



28 EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

higher and more perfect. An admission of in- 
ferior grades of being and intelligence only, would 
still leave the superior without an adequate cause 
for its production, and force us upon the absurdity 
already referred to, of supposing that nothing 
produced something. Not only must every effect 
have a cause, but also a cause adequate to its pro- 
duction. From these reasonings, the irresistible 
corollary, is, an infinite intelligence, whose exist- 
ence is necessary and eternal — the eternal, un- 
caused cause of all things — the " I AM." 

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or 
ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, 
even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God." 
From this one God, who is in his essence and 
attributes, the sum of all possible perfection, true 
religion derives its existence, and on this rock it 
rests without the slightest misgiving. Any re- 
ligion which allows more than one God, or that 
he is less than infinite in duration and perfection, 
is necessarily and palpably false. 

Again, true religion is revealed religion. By 
this we mean that intelligent moral beings know 
nothing of God, or of themselves as related to 
him, or of his laws, or the consequences of obedi- 
ence or disobedience, or of the life to come and 



PURE GOLD. 29 

the destiny awaiting them there, but by revela- 
tion. Revelation of some kind. It may, or may 
not, be written revelation ; or it may be partly 
written, partly oral, and partly deductive from 
nature and providence. But in either case it is 
revealed religion ; a religion which God has taken 
special pains to reveal to, and impress upon the 
minds of men. 

Such is the rehgion of the highest order of an- 
gelic beings, unfallen as they are ; such was the 
religion of Adam in Paradise, in his innocence 
and holiness, while he w^alked and talked with 
God ; and such, if it be true, is the religion of his 
posterity. 

For revealed religion there are two necessities ; 
one human, the other divine. By the human, we 
nnean, that intelhgent moral beings are not relig- 
ious by intuition, — the knowledge and motives of 
religion do not arise necessarily out of their con- 
stitution. True, it is often said that men are 
naturally religious beings, and to this aphorism w^e 
do not demur. It maybe readily admitted as im- 
plying that the Creator has given man a constitu- 
tion adapted to recognize the relation he sustains 
to something higher than himself — to perceive the 
connection between cause and effect, and to feel 
3* 



30 EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

the force of religious truth and moral obligation 
when disclosed to his mind by revelation. It may 
also imply religious aspirations of some sort, and 
that God's arrangements in nature and providence 
are such as constantly to impress moral truth 
upon his mind. A being thus constituted does, 
and must, feel that without religion the wants of 
his nature remain unsuppHed. After all, there is 
a vast difference between saying man's constitu- 
tion is adapted to the subject of religion, and 
saying that it embraces all the elements of relig- 
ion. This last proposition is not true, and hence 
arises a necessity for a revelation that he may 
know what these elements are, and form his 
religious character and life under their influence. 
It may be difficult to find a man without religious 
ideas of some kind, but these are not innate, but 
result from the application to his nature of that 
religious truth which God has taken good care to 
reveal to his intelligence. 

By the second necessity referred to above, the 
divine, we mean that God's character is such, and 
such his relations to an intelligent universe, and 
by consequence to the human race, that he is 
bound by the law of his nature, and the designs 
of creation to reveal himself to his creatures, and 



PURE GOLD. 31 

make known to them whatever else is necessary 
for their guidance and happiness : so much has 
been admitted by infidels, — that is, by those who 
reject the written revelation. 

When the point is once conceded that God is 
our creator and governor, it appears a most 
reasonable deduction that he should give us a 
revelation of his will ; nay, for this there is evi- 
dently a moral necessity. That God has a will 
concerning us needs no other proof than that he 
has created us, and placed us under government. 
To suppose God would create a universe of intel- 
ligent beings without any object in view, would 
be such an impeachment of his wisdom as cannot 
be for a moment entertained. The marks of 
contrivance and design everywhere observable in 
creation, in the adaptation of means to the attain- 
ment of ends, in. the relations established between 
man and the natural world, and between man and 
his fellow-men, are all in proof that God did not 
create without a definite purpose. 

Without drawing out a lengthy argument, we 
will state what must appear quite obvious to all 
who believe God is infinitely good — viz. that the 
leading design of creation must have been the 
happiness of those created. The contrary sup- 



82 EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

position would make him a malevolent being, 
creating intelligences that he might make them 
miserable, or so careless as to the results of his 
creative acts that he produces intelligences with- 
out adequate provision for their happiness. More- 
over, God is our governor as well as creator ; 
and as in creation, so also in government, his 
object must be the happiness of his subjects. 

In every government two things are necessary 
to the happiness of the governed — 

First, that the government be just and be- 
nevolent. 

Secondly, that its laws be obeyed by its subjects. 

If the government be not just, it will not secure 
the happiness of the governed though its laws are 
obeyed. If it be just and benevolent in its laws 
and designs, still obedience to its requirements is 
essential to the happiness of its subjects. In the 
government of God there can be no doubt as to 
the equitable and holy character of its laws, — they 
partake of that infinite perfection which belongs 
to the nature of God. This point being settled, 
only one thing remains to secure the happiness 
of his creatures, and that is, that they obey the 
requirements of the government. But how can. 
this be done unless these requirements are known ? 



PUEE GOLD. 33 

and how can they be known without a rev- 
elation ? 

The case stands thus : man having no inde- 
pendent existence, or source of happiness, cannot 
be happy without a conformity to the will of God, 
and that constitution of things which God has 
established ; but this conformity cannot be either 
sought or obtained without a knowledge of what 
the will of God is ; hence arise both the reason- 
ableness of the supposition and the moral neces- 
sity that a revelation should be given. As God 
designs the happiness of his creatures, he must 
will that they should possess all the information 
necessary to promote their happiness ; and as 
they do not naturally possess this information, 
and have no natural advantages which of them- 
selves will suffice to acquire it, hence the great 
author of their being- is bound by the law of his 
nature, which is the law of infinite goodness and 
love, to supply the deficiency by such supernatural 
means as in his wisdom will meet the case. 

If he have the power and wisdom necessary, and 
yet do not give a revelation, there must, as 
appears to us, be a defect in his goodness. If he 
have the requisite wisdom and goodness, and yet 
do not give his creatures adequate knowledge, 



84 EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

there must be a lack of power. But if there be 
no defect in power or goodness, there must then 
be a deficiency in his wisdom if he do not com- 
municate to man the laws and duties which lead 
to a happy destiny. But there being nothing want- 
ing in these attributes — Grod being infinite in good- 
ness, wisdom, and power, we see not how to avoid 
the conclusion that a revelation must be given. 
And true religion rests upon the assurance that 
it has been given. At this point it becomes an 
important inquiry, how has God revealed himself? 
and where may this revelation be found ? The 
advocates of natural religion, including the deist 
and those who sympathized with him, assert that 
nature is a sufficient guide to man in all matters 
relating to his religious character and life. They 
refer us to the book of nature, and tell us this is 
God's revelation; and they dwell with much 
apparent complacency upon what they regard as 
the force, and perspicuous clearness of its an- 
nouncements. 

The book of nature is "three volumed," and 
may be labelled as follows: — the "natural uni- 
verse" — "natural reason" — and "natural con- 
science.'^ Let us open it, and for a moment con- 
template its revelations. We cheerfully admit 



PURE GOLD. 35 

there are some important truths announced here, 
but the power by which we discover their nature 
and importance is derived not from any self-inter- 
preting faculty of the book containing them, but 
from another production whose Hght is repudiated 
by those who are so extravagant in their eulo- 
gies of the book of nature. It is difficult to say 
precisely w^hat amount of information we should 
gain from the book of nature, were we entirely 
shut up to this source of instruction. We may 
safely say, however, it would be very limited and 
unsatisfactory. 

For instance, look into that department denom- 
inated " natural universe," and what do we see ? 
It affords us some light, but it speaks to us of few 
subjects, and of these, for the most part, in an 
obscure and ambiguous manner. It announces 
God, but gives very limited views of his attributes, 
except his wisdom and power. It intimates that 
he is creator and governor, but gives no particular 
or even general instruction respecting his laws, 
or our duties to him. It may teach us that a 
future state is credible, and probable, but it gives 
no assurance ; and concerning the nature of that 
state and the preparation we need for entering 
upon it, it is entirely silent. It may be admitted 



S6 EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

also, that nature affords some evidence that God 
is benevolent ; but it likewise proves him a being 
of great severity and terrible majesty. And 
though we may feel conscience oppressed w'ith a 
sense of guilt, we have no pledge that God is dis- 
posed to forgive sin ; we may take the question, 
" What shall I do to be saved ?" to every sun 
that shines, and every star that glows in the vast 
temple of nature, and there is no voice and none 
to answer. 

Does " natural reason" supply this decfiiency ? 
Let us see. Reason is but the faculty of think- 
ing upon subjects presented to the mind, with 
the power to distinguish truth from falsehood 
where both are clearly defined. Were reason 
perfect in itself it would not be infallible, since 
its decisions depend upon the nature and force of 
evidence external to itself. Were man as per- 
fect as when first created, he would still be finite 
and his reason fallible. But even this perfection 
cannot now be claimed for him, or his reasoning 
powers. The same imperfection which attaches 
itself to the present condition of man, and in- 
heres in his constitution, also characterizes his 
mental operations, and marks the deductions of 
reason with weakness and faUibility. Were men 



PUEE GOLD 87 

free from defect of every kind — were they per- 
fectly honest in all their searches after truth, 
yet would not reason be a sufficient guide, be- 
cause finite, and incapable of reaching to the lofty 
height of many of those subjects involved in the 
nature of a divine religion. But as this elevated 
place in the scale of perfection cannot be truth- 
fully claimed for men, reason is not merely in- 
sufficient, but unsafe as a guide in matters of 
religion. To be convinced of this, we need only 
look at the sage conclusions at which reason has 
arrived upon some of the highest subjects of true 
religion. The "natural reason" of the heathen 
world has led them to change the image of the 
incorruptible God into a great variety of corrup- 
tible images. Their reason not being able to rise 
to the lofty conception of an infinite being whose 
essence is spiritual, and whose existence is eternal, 
has degraded him to a character finite — a nature 
corporeal. It has multiplied gods by thousands, 
and governs them by passions, principles and 
motives which are the disgrace of humanity. 

The mind of man is a subject upon which the 
strength of reason has been tried sufficiently to 
prove its imbecility. And what is the result of 
the trial ? So far as the light of supernatural 



88 EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

revelation has been excluded from the subject, 
nothing definite has been arrived at. There have 
been as many opinions as reasons, and man has 
had assigned to him every variety of place in the 
scale of existence between a brute and a god. 
And if human reason be incompetent to give man 
his own proper place in the chain of being, much 
less is it prepared to answer the momentous ques- 
tions which arise respecting his future existence 
and destiny. 

And what of " natural conscience ?" Does 
this supply the desideratum ? Few subjects in 
mental or moral philosophy present greater diffi- 
culties than conscience. Hardly any two of all 
who have speculated on the subject, have agreed 
as to what conscience is. Some make it a dis- 
tinct faculty of the soul ; others will not allow it 
this dignity ; others still call it our moral sense, 
and yet others, Gfod's vice-gerent in the soul ; 
while another class insist that it is only the judg- 
ment the mind forms of the relations and moral 
character of a subject or act, after surveying it 
in the exercise of all its faculties. 

All agree, however, that the design of con- 
science is, to impress the mind with a conviction 
of what is morally right and wrong. The most 



PUKE GOLD. 39 

important question relates to the decisions of 
conscience. Are they always right ? Is it a 
safe and sufficient guide ? All we know of the 
operations of natural conscience compels us to 
answer these questions in the negative. 

The conscience of the savage permits him to 
destroy the life of his aged and decrepit parent 
because he is no longer able to support himself 
by hunting. The conscience of the heathen wife 
permits, if not impels, her to sa.crifice herself 
upon the funeral pyre of her departed husband — 
permits the heathen mother to cast her tender 
infant to the crocodile of the Ganges, and has im- 
pelled thousands to throw themselves to be crush- 
ed under the rolling wheels of the car of Jugger- 
naut. Without spending time to illustrate the 
subject further by the history of conscience in 
Christian lands, we think it must be obvious that 
natural conscience is not reliable. It must be 
enlightened and educated before we can safely 
follow its dictates. But how can this be, without 
a divine revelation ? 

Thus we are again conducted to the conclusion 
we have several times reached already — the ne- 
cessity of a direct revelation of the will of God to 
man. The book of nature is little better than a 



40 EXISTEN'CE OF GOD. 

blank, until the supernatural rays of God's re- 
Tealed word illumine its pages, and assist the 
mind of man to interpret its language, and under- 
stand its facts and phenomena. As we have 
now reached a point where it appears morally 
certain that God has placed in the hands of men 
a book which has truth without mixture of error 
for its contents, and the instruction and salvation 
of men for its object, we simply inquire where 
may this book be found ? Shall we search for 
it amongst the various forms of heathen mythol- 
ogy ? Shall we expect to find it in the leaves of 
the Roman Sybil ? In the Shaster, or in the 
Gitagovinda of the Hindoo ? Or shall we find 
it in the Koran of Mohammed ? No well-inform- 
ed mind will expect to find God's revelation in 
any of these. There is no proof of their divinity, 
internal or external. They are not connected 
with a single evidence necessary to authenticate 
a revelation. It is conceded on all hands that the 
Bible is the only book to which this high char- 
acter can be given. Such is the unqualified 
decision and faith of true religion. A religion 
professedly founded on any other authority, or 
which does not acknowledge the Bible as God's 
book, — the perfection and completion of re vela- 



PUEE GOLD. 41 

tion — the only, and the sufficient rule of faith and 
practice, is, and must be false. 

We close this chapter with the language of the 
great and venerable Wesley. " I am a spirit come 
from God, and returning to God ; just hover- 
ing over the gulf; till a few moments hence, I am 
no more seen ! I drop into an unchangeable 
eternity! I want to know one thing, — the way 
to heaven ; how to land safe on that happy shore. 
God himself has condescended to teach the way ; 
for this very end he came down from heaven. 
He hath written it down in a book ! O give me 
that book ! At any price, give me the book of God ! 
I have it ; here is knowledge enough for me. Let 
me be 'homo imius lihri.'"'^ 

Most -wondrous book ! Bright candle of the Lord ! 

Star of eternity ! the only star 

By which the bark of man can navigate 

The sea of hfe, and gain the coast of bliss 

Securely ; only star which rose on time 

And on its dark and troubled billows, still, 

As generation drifting swiftly by 

Succeeds generation, throivs a ray 

Of heaven's own light, and to the hills of God, 

The eternal hiUs, points the sinner's eye, — Pollok:. 

* A man of one book. 
4*: 



CHAPTEE ly. 

TRUE KELIQION IN HARMONY WITH THE DIVINE NATURE, — IT IS 
INFINITE— INTELLIGENT BENEVOLENT LOVE JUST HOLY UN- 
CHANGEABLE — SPIRITUAL. ITS RELATION TO THE TRINITY. CUI- 

BONO OF THE TRINITY. — TAYLOR. NEANDER. 

" The hand of God 
Has written legibly that man may know 
The glory of the Maker." — Ware. 

"The depth 
Of glory in the attributes of God, 
Will measure the capacities of mind : 
And as the angels differ, will the ken 
Of gifted spirits glorify Him more."— Willis. 

As true religion is founded on the doctrine of 
divine existence, and by special arrangement is 
revealed to the world, and sustains a necessary 
relation to revelation as it does to God, so it must 
also harmonize with the revealed nature of God. 
There must be no incongruity here : religion must 
be a true exponent of the character of its author. 

God is an infinite being. A religion arising 
from his nature and revealed by him must partake 
of the infinity of its source. Being divine in its 



PUKE GOLD. 43 

origin, divine in its nature, and intended to dis- 
play his glory under an infinite and eternal ad- 
ministration, it must embrace propositions, motives 
and influences which share the grandeur and 
mystery of infinity. Were it not so, it v^'ould not 
be worthy of God, nor adapted to the constitution 
of immortal beings made in the image of God. 
Religion is not a created existence ; creation had 
a beginning and may have an end ; but religion, 
springing from the very essence of Jehovah, is 
like its glorious author, infinite and eternal. 
Without this trait, it would not, nay, could not, 
be what it is designed to be by the Deity, and what 
it is expected to be by his creatures, — an infinite 
good to holy and immortal intelligences. With- 
out this trait, it must eventually cease to interest 
the exalted, and still improving intellects who shall 
dwell in God's presence and forever circle his 
throne. The minds of men, even, are adapted 
to the investigation of infinite and eternal sub- 
jects. To answer its declared purposes, religion 
must furnish the minds it is intended to make 
blissful wdth themes of eternal thought and con- 
templation. God reveals himself as the highest 
source of interest and happiness in the whole 
universe. It is religion that binds moral beings 



4A DIVINE NATURE. 

to God, and derives from him to them the bHss 
for which they were created. God is the foun- 
tain, rehgion is the stream. As the fountain is 
infinite, so must be the stream that flows from it. 
As the happiness of God's moral subjects will 
consist with no abatement of interest in the rehg- 
ion he has given them, there is a necessity that 
its elements be divine, and that in their combina- 
tion they form an infinite whole. 

Again, God is an intelligent being, and in this 
respect also religion is conformed to the divine 
nature. It has an intellect as well as a heart. 
The character which some people seem fond of 
giving to religion is a degradation of the subject. 
They resolve it all into sympathy, or a sickly 
sentimentalism which can see little or no differ- 
ence between vice and virtue. In the estimation 
of such the most wilful and incorrigible offenders 
are only " erring children," and the greatest crimes 
are regarded in the light of mere misfortunes, 
which may excite pity, but must call into exercise 
no sterner virtue. True, religion has a heart, but 
it, is not all heart. It is benevolent, but not 
blindly so : a benevolence without eyes or ears, 
without sense or reason, is unworthy of religion 
as it is of God. Were such the chief character- 



PUEE GOLD. 45 

istic of religion, it would indeed be, as is unjustly 
supposed by certain who are inflated with intel- 
lectual pride, only fit to occupy the attention of 
children and old women. 

We insist upon it, there is no less of the intel- 
lectual than the emotional in this great subject. 
God is the highest and most perfect intelligence. 
He reveals himself to the intelligence of the 
universe. His laws are highly intellectual, em- 
bodying in a few well-selected words the most 
consummate wisdom, — they are "the brightest 
efflux of his essential wisdom — the visible beauty 
of the Most High."* The motives of his word 
are addressed to the intellect. True, they aim t@ 
excite our love and awaken our fears, but this is 
done only through our intellectual perceptions of 
their nature and force. Love and fear without 
an intellectual basis, are no part of true religion. 
They are rather the incipient states of two false 
systems, one of superstition, the other of fanat- 
icism. Frames and feelings, joys and ecstacies, 
sympathy and love, accompany religion, and as 
elements or fruits sustain important relations to 
it, but the foundation of the whole is intelligence 
and principle. Where there is a corresponding 

* Wesley. 



46 DIVINE NATURE. 

improvement of the heart, the most consistent, 
uniform, and perfectly balanced religious char- 
acter, is always found in connection with the 
strongest mind, and most perfect intelligence. 

God is infinitely good : and here also does true 
religion symbolize the Deity. It is the very soul 
of goodness. The goodness of God leads him to 
employ his omnipotence in diffusing happiness 
throughout his universe under the direction of his 
most perfect wisdom. " Like his great emblem, 
the sun, who nourishes and enlightens the whole 
creation without being diminished in splendor, 
so he imparts without being himself exhausted, 
and ever giving has yet infinitely more to give."* 
He cannot put forth a creative act, or form and 
execute a purpose, which will bring intelligent 
beings into existence without the power to ac- 
quire and enjoy happiness. As he sustains the 
same relations as Creator to every human being, 
he has given no proofs of partiality, nor made any 
distinctions which interfere with moral happiness 
and destiny. So far as such distinctions now 
exist, they have arisen under causes which have 
operated subsequent to creation, and involve a 
* Watson. 



PUEE GOLD. 47 

voluntary and criminal perversion of the powers 
and blessings of men. 

But not only is God good in the general sense 
of righteousness and benevolence, but also in that 
particular sense denominated love. Love is not 
an attribute, but an emotion, an affection. In 
God it is the highest exercise of the affections of 
his great heart, and is therefore a fruit of his good- 
ness. It is not a blind emotion or passion, which 
lavishes its ever- burning fire upon all objects in- 
discriminately. It is under the direction of the 
highest wisdom and reason, and therefore has a 
specific application, and acts by the nicest rules of 
discrimination. Moreover, as the principles of 
moral philosophy have their foundation in the 
divine nature, there is philosophy in divine love 
as well as that which is human. But on the 
principles of philosophy, that which is loved by a 
holy being must be lovely in itself; must have 
some quality adapted to call forth love, and must 
be morally assimilated to the character of the 
being who loves. This is certainly true of the 
love of approbation and complacency. There 
may be a love of pity, or compassion, without 
complacency, and it is in this sense that God loves 
a wicked world, and places the highest good with- 



48 GOLDEN RULE. 

in their reach. But only that which is morally 
lovely can be loved with complacency and de- 
light. 

" Saints are lovely in his sight, 
He views his children "with delight ; 
He sees their hopes, he knows their fears, 
He looks and loves his image there." 

Divine love, though not an attribute, yet by its 
spirit and disposition presides over all the attri- 
butes of God. Every design and act of God is in 
perfect concord with love. Creation and re- 
demption from first to last move in the atmosphere 
of love, and whatever the final result to man may 
be, love will justify and approve it. With a high 
sense of justice, a well-balanced intellect, and a 
heart of sympathy for sinful and suffering men, 
divine love moves angel-like among the wretched 
and fallen, — seeks to raise up, redeem and purify, 
and change their woe into bliss, and when the 
depraved and degraded respond as they may, to 
the benign interference, then, love stamps the 
image of God, infuses its own nature, and rests 
with supreme approbation and delight. 

Such in all respects is true religion. It is the 
soul of goodness, the essence of love. It is good 
in its nature, being the offspring of the . divine 



PURE GOLD. 49 

mind, — it is good in its aims and purposes. Its 
designs harmonize with those of God. To give 
true and permanent happiness to men is the pur- 
pose of God, and religion comes as the heavenly- 
agent to fulfil this intention. It renews the de- 
praved, restores the fallen, substitutes hope for 
despair, gladdens the heart surcharged with sor- 
row, and fixes the expectant eye upon the visions 
of a happy eternity. Love is essential to happi- 
ness. Without it, there can be no bliss to moral 
beings ; religion is love, it breathes the spirit of 
that divine affection, and on this account, is in- 
deed the soul of happiness to man. He who 
dwells in religion dwells in love, and "he that 
dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him." 
God is a just being, and there can be no true 
religion without justice. Justice is a branch 
of the divine holiness, and implies the infinite 
rectitude of the divine character. The Deity is 
exactly right in all his feelings, relations and 
works. He must ever adhere to what is right, 
and be inflexibly opposed to every degree of 
wrong. It is impossible that he should ever do 
the least injustice to any living being. Nor is it 
possible that he should ever compromit any claim 
of his law or government, to relieve the guilty of 



50 DIVINE NATURE. 

deserved retribution. His justice can have no 
claims that are not perfectly equitable ; it must, 
therefore, be infinitely right that its claims should 
be met. They are as distant from undue severity 
on the one hand, as from laxity and partiality 
on the other. God never acts from goodness to 
the exclusion of justice, nor from justice to the 
injury of goodness and benevolence. His justice 
never interferes with the province of any one of 
his attributes, for all the divine attributes are in- 
terested in the maintenance of equity. Justice 
may be said to harmonize the whole, — to collect 
and express their united voice in an infinite oppo- 
sition to evil. " An act of God may appear to u? 
in one case to be the result of power alone ; ie 
another, of goodness alone ; in a third, of justice 
alone ; yet in respect to the divine nature itself, 
all these effects are the joint product of all his 
perfections, neither of which is exerted more or 
less than another."* The ways of God are 
equal. True religion is eminently just. It mir- 
rors forth the exact image of a just God. It is 
right in itself, and its claims evenly balanced on 
every hand. It makes no demands upon its sub- 
jects which do not accord with their relations and 

* Clark. 



PUEE GOLD. 51 

responsibilities, and for meeting which they have 
not ample power ; nor does it ever allow obliquity 
or delinquency, without a corresponding accumu- 
lation of guilt and condemnation. It condemns 
every kind and degree of dishonesty, fraud, and 
wrong towards God and towards man. It re- 
quires neither too httle nor too much. It is like 
God, exactly right. '' Render to Caesar the things 
that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are 
God's." 

From these remarks in relation to justice, it 
will appear obvious that true religion is the " ex- 
press image" of God in relation to holiness. 
" Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty !" There 
are no terms in our language sufficiently expres- 
sive and forcible, to convey a full view of the 
divine holiness. His holiness is both negative 
and positive. He is at an infinite distance from 
moral evil, and the highest essence and perfection 
of holiness and moral purity. It is said in his 
word, " the heavens are not pure in his sight ;" he 
"charges his angels with folly," and cannot "look 
upon sin with the least degree of allowance." 
The religion he has revealed, and by which he 
aims to make the sinful pure, and the holy more 
perfect in holiness, is essentially holy in its nature, 



52 DIVINE NATURE. 

doctrines, precepts, and influences. Its command 
is "be holy;" its threatening "without holiness 
no man shall see the Lord." It is the appropriate 
business of this religion to reveal the tremendous 
majesty and immaculate purity of God, and im- 
press the minds of intelligent beings with the 
necessity of being in their sphere, like God, 
morally pure and holy. Under the influence of 
true religion, the most devout and pious mind feels 
a humbling sense of un worthiness, arising from 
the vast disparity between its own moral attain- 
ments, and the spotless and boundless holiness of 
God. Cherubim and Seraphim veil their faces be- 
fore his throne, and the holiest soul cries out — 

" I loathe myself when God I see, 
And into nothing fall," 

To minds thus afl?ected, it is not wonderful that 
the scriptures teach that sin is an infinite evil, and 
that the opposition in the divine mind to that evil, 
is infinite and eternal. 

God is unchangeable. With him there is "no 
variableness, neither shadow of turning." What 
he was in the boundless and eternal past, he is, and 
will be, in the boundless and eternal future. It is 
impossible that God should change without ceas- 



PURE GOLD. 53 

ing to be God. As God is perfect, should he 
change it must be from perfect to imperfect. As 
he is infinite, should he change he must become 
finite, that is, cease to be God. There is the 
same necessity that his character should be 
changeless, that there is that he should exist, and 
be eternal. The two facts, eternity and injinityj 
which mark the divine existence, do of them- 
selves establish a third fact, that God must be 
immutable. And what he is in his character and 
perfections, such he is also in his laws and the 
relations he sustains to his moral subjects. There 
may be, and doubtless are, many grades and ranks 
of moral beings, who, in intellectual and moral 
perfection, differ in their relative approaches to 
the perfection of Jehovah, and according to the 
measure of their moral resemblance to God, are 
more or less conscious of his favor; yet, the 
nature of their relations and moral obligations 
is the same, graduated of course, by the extent of 
their intelligence and moral ability. And the 
same law that governs one, governs all. God 
has but one law, and that is extended over all 
moral beings and worlds. It may be under varied 
circumstances, revealed in different degrees of 
perfection, and adapted to different grades of in- 



54 DIVINE NATUKE. 

tellect, and different stages of moral improvement ; 
but it is the same in requirement, unchangeable in 
its nature, and eternal in its obligations ; it binds 
the whole intelligent universe to God as the sum 
of all perfection and the highest source of bliss, 
and commands every being to seek the highest ^ 
good of every other. " Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart, and thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself" Whether we live on 
earth in a state of probation, forming a character 
for eternity, or in heaven under the light and 
glory of its eternal sun, or are doomed to " black- 
ness of darkness forever," for incorrigible guilt 
and sinfulness, the law remains the same ; it is 
God's law to us, and according to the measure 
of ability conferred in our creation, we are held 
to the fulfilment of its high demands. 

No objection can be sustained against these 
views on the ground that he sometimes frowns 
and sometimes smiles, sometimes punishes and 
again rewards ; or that his law acts in dissimilar 
w^ays upon the same individual ; now justifying, 
and anon visiting with condemnation ; these ap- 
parent mutations, really imply no change in God. 
He is the unchangeable lover of hoUness, and 
hater of sin ; and his administration is uniform 



PURE GOLD. 55 

in respect to both sin and virtue. The insta- 
bility is in the creature ; the subject changes his 
moral position from obedience to rebellion, and 
vice versa, and is therefore the object of placency 
or displacency, according to his disposition and 
conduct. "O house of Israel! are not my ways 
equal ? are not your ways unequal ?" 

The same changeless character here described 
^ as inseparable from God and his law, also belongs 
to, and inheres in, all the essential elements of 
true religion. Its doctrines, duties, spirit, influ- 
ence, and aims, are always, and everywhere the 
same. And the moral character formed under 
its influence, and by its moulding power, is iden- 
tical in every age and nation. The hohness, love, 
reverence, and obedience of true religion, as also 
its humility, and zeal for God and his glory, are 
the same whether breaking forth from the high 
born sons of glory in songs and shouts of joy, or 
moulding the character and directing the life of 
Enoch who walked with God three hundred 
years — or inspiring the confidence and faith of 
Abraham the '' Friend of God" — or burning in 
the heart and shining in the life of the intrepid 
Peter — or exulting on the lips of Paul "ready to 
be offered" — or imparting peace to the mind, and 



56 DIVINE NATURE. 

usefulness to the life, of the humblest Christian 
down to the end of time. Men may change 
from holiness to sin, from happiness to woe ; like 
the angels who " kept not their first estate," they 
may forfeit the blessings of God's government, 
and be " reserved" to a future and hopeless des- 
tiny, — but true religion, in time and eternity, is 
always and everywhere, a changeless, boundless 
good to its votaries. 

" God is a spirit, and they that worship him 
must worship him in spirit and in truth." 

This passage announces two important truths, 
which human reason, unaided, can hardly be 
thought competent to discover, viz., that God is 
a spiritual essence, or substance, and that, cor- 
responding with his nature, his religion is emi- 
nently spiritual. 

Spirit is defined, " an uncompounded, immate- 
rial substance." The word substance in this 
connection need not mislead us. It is simply 
that which subsists, whether material or immate- 
rial. As that which subsists, spirit is an imma- 
terial substance, and consequently uncompound- 
ed and indivisible. Such is God, without parts, 
illimitable, incorruptible, eternal. '' He cannot 
be seen by the eye ; but he may be perceived by 



PURE GOLD. 67 

the mind. He is not palpable to the hand : but 
he may be felt by the soul. By his mighty work- 
ing the most powerful and salutary changes may 
be wrought in the mind, which it at once per- 
ceives to be supernatural, and which, from the 
holiness of the effects, it knows to be the work of 
God."^ 

Those who have learned from the Bible, or 
from experience, what true religion is, will per- 
ceive at once how exactly it resembles Grod in 
these particulars. It is neither material nor cre- 
ated. It is an emanation from the Deity. Its 
doctrinal basis is spiritual, embracing propositions 
respecting God, man, holiness, love, futurity, and 
immortality, which are only subjects of thought 
and faith, established by moral evidence, and not 
tangible to any process of demonstration known 
to the physical sciences. It does not operate upon 
matter, but upon mind — upon the mental and 
moral nature : it is therefore directly adapted to 
the spiritual constitution of man. It is not in- 
tended to change, or in any way affect the body, 
only so far as the condition of the body may de- 
pend on that of the soul. Its object is to culti- 
vate and perpetuate spiritual life where it exists, 

* Clark. 



58 DIVINATION. 

and restore it where it has been lost: and the 
efficient agent employed in effecting this moral 
change is also spiritual. "Not by might, nor by 
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of 
hosts." To the same effect is the teaching of Je- 
sus : " That which is born of the Spirit is spirit" — 
" The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell 
whence it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is 
every one that is born of the Spirit." To enjoy 
the full advantage of this religion here, is to be a 
subject of Divine pardon, witnessed by " the spirit 
of adoption" — to be " pure in heart" — " spiritu- 
ally minded, which is life and peace" — to have 
the kingdom of God established in the soul, which 
is "righteousness, peace, and joy in* the Holy 
Ghost" — to be filled with all pure and spiritual 
affections, and fully prepared to participate the 
spiritual bliss of an endless heaven. 

Before closing this chapter, it may be expected 
that we should say something of the relation of true 
religion to that great mystery of religious faith, de- 
nominated in theological language the Trinity. 
Our plan does not embrace, and will not admit any- 
thing like a thorough discussion of this lofty sub- 
ject. All we can do is to remark upon it briefly as a 



PUEE GOLD. 59 

revealed fact,and show how revealed religion agrees 
with this peculiar mode of the Divine existence. 

Though types and symbols of the mystery of 
the Trinity are found in various departments of 
creation — such as the union of two natures of 
man in one person — the trinity of primary intel- 
lectual faculties in the soul, power, intellect, and 
will, — and motion, light, and heat in the sun. Yet 
it is generally conceded, even by the advocates 
of the doctrine, that no proofs, perfectly conclu- 
sive and satisfactory, of a trinity of persons in the 
unity of the Grodhead, can be derived from nature. 
The distinctness with which we see an object, 
and trace its outlines, or become acquainted with 
its beauties or deformities, depends much upon 
the power of vision, and the nature and perfection 
of the medium through which the object is beheld. 
If it be intellectual, it depends upon the strength 
of our perceptive faculties. 

We have already seen that nature can conduct 
us but a short distance in forming a critical ac- 
quaintance with Jehovah. In contemplating him 
through this medium he is but dimly seen : we 
are obliged to look through a darkened screen, 
aided only by twilight, and content ourselves 
with an indistinct view of the object behind it. 



60 THE TRINITY. 

In all matters vital to religious knowledge, faith, 
and morals, God has given us a more sure word 
of prophecy, the Bible. To this we shall do well 
to give heed, in respect to this great subject, as 
unto " a light that shineth in a dark place." That 
which appears but dimly where nature is the 
medium of vision, may, as seen in the perfect 
mirror of divine truth, be clearly and distinctly 
reflected. Revelation abbreviates the distance 
between us and our object : it brings us into the 
presence-chamber of the King of kings, and allows 
us, as far as minds like ours can comprehend 
them, to become conversant with the majesty and 
mystery of his nature. 

Our limits will only allow us to give, in few 
words, the scriptural grounds upon which this 
doctrine rests. 

First. The scriptures announce, in the most 
solemn and unequivocal manner, the unity of 
God ; a fact which the opponents of trinitarian 
views fancy, though very erroneously, to be in- 
consistent with the doctrine in question. 

Secondly. " The very first name in scripture, 
(says Watson), under which the divine being is 
introduced to us as the Creator of heaven and 
earth, is a plural one, Aleim : and to connect in 



PUEE GOLD. 61 

a singular manner — plurality with unity, it is the 
nominative case to a verb singular. ' In the be- 
ginning, Gods created the heavens and the earth.' 
Of this form innumerable instances occur in the 
Old Testament. That the word is plural, is made 
certain by its being often joined with adjectives, 
pronouns, and verbs plural ; and yet when it can 
mean nothing else than the true God, it is gener- 
ally joined in its plural form with verbs singular." 

Thirdly. God speaks of himself as existing in a 
sense that admits of the idea of plurality, in con- 
nection with his w^orks. " And God said, Let us 
make man in our image, after our likeness." Gen. 
i. 26. Of this mode of expression, there are sev- 
eral other instances. 

Fourthly. This plurality is never represented 
as being more nor less than three, and these three 
are, in numerous places in the scriptures, desig- 
nated by divine titles, as, God, the Word, the 
Spirit ; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Also the 
personal pronouns, /, thou, he, are often applied 
to each in proof of their personality. 

Fifthly. All the attributes and works, which in 
the Bible are ascribed to and claimed by the su- 
preme Jehovah, are also claimed by, and ascribed 
to each of these personaUties : so that we have 
6 



62 THE TEINITY. 

the same proof of the supreme divinity of each 
and all, that we have of any one of them. 

Sixthly, They receive the same honors and 
worship — being often joined in the form of bene- 
diction and baptism, and being the objects of wor- 
ship without any intimation that the worship is 
inferior, or the object not entitled to supreme 
adoration. And yet through the whole Bible the 
idea is kept up, and supported fully to the last, 
that while these three are equal in divinity and 
eternity, they are so intimately and inseparably 
connected with each other, as to be but one in 
the unity and perfection of the Godhead. 

It will not do to object to the above views on 
the ground that they involve a great mystery: 
the same objection may be urged by the atheist, 
with equal force, against acknowledging a God at 
all. God is no less mysterious in the fact of his 
existence, and in his omniscience and omnipres- 
ence, than in his tri-unity. It is the triumph of 
this doctrine that it maintains its place as funda- 
mental in the system of Christian theology, in 
spite of the learning, philosophy, and metaphys- 
ical skill united against it : and that its oppo- 
nents with all their perseverance, and unwearied 
painstaking, have only been able to present ob- 



PUEE GOLD. 63 

jections so few and feeble. All classes of unita- 
rians have ever felt it to be their most difficult 
task to dispose of the scriptural basis of the Trin- 
ity ; and in their effi)rts to do so, they have de- 
feated their object by adopting principles of in- 
terpretation so loose and eccentric, as to shock 
those who have a becoming reverence for the 
word of God. 

But the inquiry may be made, '' cui bono," 
what is the practical utiUty of the doctrine ? 
what has the trinity to do with morality and re- 
ligion ? We answer, " much, every way." If 
true religion be a true exponent of the character 
of its author, then must it bear the stamp, and be 
adjusted to the character of God as a Triune Deity. 
And such is the fact. In looking at the system 
of religion as revealed to us, it exhibits the marks 
of its paternity, the proofs of being the offspring 
of the divine Trinity. It has its sacred triad. 
Its theory embraces Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
or divinity, merit, and influence. As a practical 
system, it is developed and made operative by a 
Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Its connec- 
tion with religious experience is described by St. 
Paul, Eph. ii. 18, " Through him (Christ) we both 
have access by one Spirit unto the Father." 



64 THE TRINITY. 

We can only have " access" to God through 
Christ, and Christ becomes the " way" to the Fa- 
ther, only to those who are " changed into the 
same image from glory to glory, even as by the 
Spirit of the Lord." Indeed this doctrine is 
eminently practical. It is inseparably connected 
with a truly religious life. It imparts deep spirit- 
uality to religion, and is the very soul of experi- 
mental and practical piety. It brings the truly 
regenerated into fellowship with the Father and 
the Son, while " the love of God is shed abroad in 
the heart by the Holy Ghost given to us." 

Upon the mere theorist, or speculative believer, 
the doctrine in question may exert no practical in- 
fluence. "He who goes about to speak of the mys- 
tery of the Trinity, and does it by words and names 
of mens invention, talking of essences and existen- 
ces, hypostases and personalities, priorities, in co- 
equalities, &c., and unity in pluralities, may amuse 
himself and build a tabernacle in his head, and talk 
of something he knows not what ; but the good man 
that feels the power of the Father, and to whom 
the Son is become wisdom, righteousness, sancti- 
fication and redemption, and in whose heart the 
love of the Spirit of God is shed abroad — this 
man, though he understands nothing of what is 



PUEE GOLD. Qo 

unintelligible, yet he alone truly understands the 
Christian doctrine of the Trinity/'* 

We close this chapter in the language of the 
very learned and distinguished Neander. " It is 
this doctrine (the Trinity) by which God becomes 
known as the original fountain of all existence, as 
he by whom the rational creation that had become 
estranged from him, is brought back to the fellow- 
ship with him : and as he in the fellowship with 
whom it thenceforth subsists : the three-fold rela- 
tion in which God stands to mankind, as primal 
ground, mediator and end : — Creator, Redeemer 
and Sanctifier, — in which three-fold relation the 
whole Christian knowledge of God is completely 
announced." 

* Jeremy Taylor. 



CHAPTER y. 



TRUK RELIGION AS RELATED TO THE SOUL. ESSENCE OF THE 

SOUL. ITS EXISTENCE PROVED BY SENSATION INTELLIGENCE. 

MATERIALISM DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR INTELLIGENCE. MIND IN- 
DEPENDENT OF MATTER. SCRIPTURAL TESTIMONY. THE SOUL 

IMMORTAL. PROVED BY DIVINE GOVERNMENT — DEATH. — ANAL- 
OGY. ITS POWERS. INNATE DESIRE OF LIFE. — REVELATION. 

PRACTICAL INFLUENCE OF THE DOCTRINE. ERRONEOUS VIEWS 

OF IMMORTALITY STATED, AND REFUTED. 

" Immortality o'ersweeps 
All pain?, all tears, all time, all fears — and peals 
Like the eternal thunders of the deep 
Into my ears this truth— Thou livest forever." — Anon. 

"C!old in the dust this perished heart may lie. 
But that which warmed it once shaU never die."— Campbell. 



We have thus far considered true religion as 
divine, as revealed, and as symbolizing the charao 
ter of God. We now proceed to show its adapta- 
tion to the nature, moral condition, and destiny of 
man. As religion has its necessary relations with 
God, so must it have with man. Its connection 
with man is not an accident, any more than its 
derivation from God. As its divine paternity is 
necessary to its existence and efficacy, so its 



PURE GOLD. 67 

agreement with the constitution and relations of 
its subject is essential to its utility and obligations. 
A religion not suited to the condition and aspira- 
tions of intelligent beings, which does not address 
its motives to their hopes and fears, and demon- 
strate a parallel between their susceptibilities and 
its own power to bless, can present no valid claims 
to their consideration. It must reveal the mys- 
teries of man as well as those of God, or con- 
sidered with respect to the human race, it is not 
the true religion. 

As they relate to man, the principal subjects 
unfolded and dwelt upon by revealed religion, are 
his immortality — his moral condition — the means 
adopted for restoring him to divine favor, — the 
ground of obligation, and the rule of retribution. 
Each of these points will receive a share of our 
attention in the ensuing pages, but this chapter 
will be devoted to the subject of immortality. 
Religion is eternal. It must be so, or it is not 
divine. Man is immortal ; he must be so, or there 
is no proper agreement between him and religion 
— there is an incongruity between that which 
blesses and those who are blessed. We lay it 
down, then,as a ''sine qua non'' of true religion, 
that it believes without doubt or waverinsr, and 



UO IMMORTALITY. 

teaches without equivocation or reservation, the 
immortality of the human soul. For what we 
know of this important truth, we are not so exclu- 
sively indebted to a written revelation, as for our 
information on some other vital elements of reli- 
gious faith. The conclusion that the soul is immor- 
tal may be rendered very plausible by a course of 
analogical and inductive reasoning : yet the mind 
does not reach the point of assurance until it ob- 
tains the authority of revealed religion. 

The doctrine of man's spiritual nature adds 
greatly to the dignity of his character, makes him 
capable of a boundless existence and connects the 
most overwhelming considerations with his des- 
tiny. As there is a degree of knowledge, more or 
less, relative to this subject, prevalent among all 
nations and tribes of men, it must, we think, be con- 
ceded, that originally the human mind possessed full 
and correct information of the immateriality and 
immortality of the human soul. But the causes as- 
sociated with his apostasy, which produced igno- 
rance and corruption in other respects, also led the 
mind of man astray upon this point, until he wan- 
dered in the mazes of unfounded speculation, un- 
der an entire misapprehension of his spiritual 
nature and exalted being. And for the most part, 



PUEE GOLD. 69 

the world remained in this state to the time of the 
Advent of Christ. To this, however, the Jews 
were an exception. To them were committed 
the oracles of God : the incipient state of that 
revelation, which to us is perfectly unfolded. 
And so far as they exerted a religious influence 
upon others, and others became acquainted with 
their sacred writings, darkness receded, and the 
true light advanced. This may account, in part 
at least, for the near approach made by some 
heathen writers to the true idea of the soul, and 
its immortality. The light of heathenism on this 
point is either the " reliquein" of an ancient reve- 
lation preserved by tradition, though variously cor- 
rupted ; or it is a partial recovery of lost knowl- 
edge, by the indirect agency of more recent divine 
communications. But whether it be the one or 
the other, it leaves them a prey to doubt and un- 
certainty, to endure the misery of a fruitless strug- 
gle between hope and fear. But true religion 
raises the mind above the influence of doubt by 
furnishing us with arguments which amount to a 
moral demonstration. Not only does revelation 
speak out upon this point with a voice clear and 
authoritative, but reason, freed from her darkness 
and disabilities by divine influence, approaches the 



70 IMMORTALITY. 

work of collecting and arranging arguments with 
superior wisdom and force. 

In considering the immortality of man, it seems 
proper that we should give some attention to the 
nature, or essence of the soul. The first position 
of true religion, is, that "there is a spirit in man, 
and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him 
understanding." That is, man possesses a spirit- 
ual nature, — his soul is an immaterial essence or 
substance ; and though mysteriously connected 
with a material body, yet differing entirely from it 
in nature, and not subject to the laws by which 
matter is governed. The works of nature in all 
their vastness and variety, may be reduced to 
two grand divisions — matter and mind ; and these 
two elements enter into the composition of man. 
Substance, is that which exists, or subsists by 
itself, whether material or immaterial, though it 
may have accidental connections and relations, 
which are not necessary to its own existence. 

" These two substances (matter and mind) have 
their beings independent of each other, having 
properties which are totally distinct, and which 
they cannot partake in common with one an- 
other."* We have as much evidence of the ex- 
* Drew 



PUEE GOLD. 71 

istence of matter and mind as of our own being, 
and no proof can exceed this. And the proof 
that mind exists is as convincing as that for the 
existence of matter. Indeed, if there be any differ- 
ence, it is in favor of mind. The fact that we 
recognize the existence of matter, is itself proof 
of the reaUty of mind, since it is only by the 
operations of mind, that any ideas of matter can 
be formed. Though we cannot explain the nature 
or essence of either matter or mind, and can only 
describe them by enumerating their sensible qual- 
ities, we are not on that account any the less sure 
of their being. 

The spiritual nature of man may be argued 
from the fact that he is a living, sensitive, self- 
moving being. The bare fact that man hves 
may not be a valid proof of his immateriality, in 
the sense in which we now use the term ; but 
that he lives, a being of passion and volition, can 
only be accounted for by supposing the presence 
and influence of an immaterial soul. And the 
reason is, that these phenomena are never ex- 
hibited by mere matter. We are acquainted 
with various forms of material substance, but we 
know of no form which of its own nature possesses 
the powers belonging to living and active beings. 



72 IMMORTALITY. 

We behold around us various forms of matter in 
motion, but no one supposes material bodies move 
themselves ; and the fact of their being in motion, 
is proof to all except the atheistic madman, of the 
existence of some power or influence superior to, 
and independent of matter. But when we add to 
motion, sensation and volition, we have not only 
evidence of the existence of something superior 
to matter, but that the same something is mysteri- 
ously connected with it, and makes it capable of 
its varied phenomena. If the movements of the 
heavenly bodies, and the order of the various 
parts of the material universe, are evidence of the 
existence of an all- wise and almighty Being, by 
whose agency and skill, all their complicated 
machinery is directed and managed ; we argue, 
in like manner, that the ease with which man can 
manage the powers and parts of his body, and 
direct and control the whole physical frame, is 
no less an evidence of the existence, in mysterious 
union with the human body, of an immaterial 
nature, without which, though he might possess 
organic life and mechanical motion, yet he could 
not be a sensitive, se/f-moving being. Though 
matter may be acted upon or moved, yet it can- 
not move itself; but man can move himself: 



PUEE GOLD. 73 

therefore, man is not wholly material. Again : 
matter is incapable of sensation ; but man is a 
sensitive being: therefore, there is something 
besides matter which enters into the composition 
of man ; and philosophy and religion have agreed 
to call it an immaterial soul. 

The fact that man is an intelligent being is also 
in proof of his spiritual nature. There has been 
a strong effort on the part of a vain and skeptical 
philosophy to account for human intelligence 
without acknowledging an immaterial nature, but 
the failure has been as signal as the effort. The 
usual course pursued by materialists, is to make 
intelligence the product of organization. Though 
they concede the point, that unorganized matter 
has no power of thought, yet by a strange incon- 
sistency, they contend, when organized in a cer- 
tain form it becomes intelhgent, and exhibits the 
varied phenomena of thought and feeling. But 
this notion is both unphilosophical and absurd. 
It is an axiom in philosophy that organized bodies 
do not, and cannot, possess any powers or ten- 
dencies which do not belong to the elements of 
which they are composed. If unorganized matter 
be destitute of the quality of thought, then is it 
absurd to suppose any possible combinations of 



74 IMMORTALITY. 

the particles of matter should create such quality. 
However we may vary the forms and combina- 
tions of matter, it is matter still, and nothing 
more — we can embrace no new circumstance in 
its description. And as the elements of which 
combined material bodies are composed, are per- 
fectly unintelligent, they must remain so in their 
compound state, however complicated and won- 
derful the combination may be. Hence the idea 
that intelligence is the product of organization is 
a chimera. 

Nor does it obviate the difficulty to suppose, as 
some have done, that a faculty of thinking has 
been appended to some material bodies. For, 
this faculty, or power to think, is something, or it 
is nothing : if it be nothing, it can do nothing, and 
is entitled to no consideration ; but if it be some- 
thing, there must be some substance in which it 
inheres, and on which it depends for its existence ; 
for it would be a great absurdity to suppose it 
depends upon no substance at all ; and as we 
have already seen it does not inhere in, and de- 
pend upon a material substance, hence it must 
depend on an immaterial substance, there being 
no other alternative. And this is exactly what 



PUEE GOLD. 75 

true religion claims; this is what we mean by- 
man's spiritual nature. 

Moreover, intelligence, though usually con- 
nected with the perfectly organized human body, 
is not a necessary concomitant. Proofs of this 
may be found in a consideration of the creation 
of the first man. God formed him of the dust of 
the earth ; and we must suppose him to have been 
perfectly organized before the inspiration of the 
Almighty gave him understanding. All parts of 
the system, including the brain, which all ac- 
knowledge to be the material organ of the out- 
ward manifestation of mind, w^ere as perfectly 
arranged and fitted for their several uses, as at 
anytime- afterward — he had all the attributes of 
the man so far as relates to the material system, 
and yet was utterly destitute of life and motion, 
to say nothing of intelligence : and he remained so 
until God "bitsathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life, and he became a living soul.'* Here, then, 
is a clear case of a perfectly organized body with- 
out life or intelligence. 

The independence of thought and mind over 
matter may also be concluded from the phenomena 
of dreaming, of suspended animation, and of death. 
Intelligence does not always continue with the 



76 IMMOETALITY. 

perpetuity of the physical organization, nor while 
continued is it always exhibited in the same degree 
of perfection. It may, and often does, cease, 
while the strictest examination cannot detect any 
disarrangement of the brain or any other part of 
the system. And this takes place when no ex- 
ternal physical cause has acted upon the body — 
when the only agency to which the phenomenon 
can be referred is the action of intelligence on in- 
telligence, or the independent action of thought. 
On the other hand, the body may be reduced by 
the action of disease to a mere skeleton ; the phys- 
ical powers are all prostrated ; not one can be 
called into action ; but the mind does not decay ; 
the pulse ceases, the extremities become cold, the 
death rattle is in the throat : but reason holds her 
empire, and marked and clear is the manifestation 
of thought'and intelligence. That which "tri- 
umphs within the jaws of mortality" must be 
independent 5f matter, must be immaterial, and 
"is doubtless immortal." 

In addition to the above considerations, drawn 
from reason and suggested by the nature of 
the subject, we adduce the authority of reve- 
lation, which clearly establishes the immate- 
riality of the human soul. The passage already 



PUEE GOLD. 77 

quoted establishes this point : " God breathed into 
his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a 
living soul.'' From this it appears that man is 
not a "living soul" by virtue of his physical or- 
ganization, but through that nature imparted to 
him when God "breathed into him the breath of 
life." Then first he received his spiritual nature, 
his soul ; then first he stood up and walked forth 
into the world created to receive him, an intelli- 
gent being, capable of holding communion with 
his Maker, and dominion over the works of his 
hands. The declaration that God made man " in 
his own image" is also decisive of the same fact. 
The corporeal nature of man could not have been 
made in the image of God — God possesses no 
such nature or image ; the allusion therefore 
must be to the spiritual nature of man, including 
his moral likeness. God is a spirit, an intelligent 
spirit, and he made man in his own image : that 
is, he gave him an intelligent spiritual nature. 
The language of Christ, (Luke xii. 4) makes a clear 
distinction between the body and soul ; the for- 
mer he declares may be killed, while the latter re- 
mains unhurt. Also the passage in Job xxxii. 8, 
"" There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of 
the Almighty giveth him understanding." If 
7* 



78 IMMORTALITY, 

there is a "spirit in man" he is not wholly ma- 
terial; and if the inspiration of the Almighty 
giveth him understanding, it follows, his under- 
standing, his intelligence, is not the result of any 
combination of the particles of matter, but of that 
spiritual nature given him of God, when he 
" breathed into him the breath of life, and he be- 
came a living soul." 

As any farther multiplication of Scripture testi- 
monies seems unnecessary, we close the argument 
upon this point by simply repeating the remark, 
that in the composition of man w^e have as much 
proof of an immaterial soul as of a material body : 
though we cannot explain the nature or essence 
of either, yet we know they exist by the best of 
evidence, consciousness and our senses. We 
know matter exists, whether in our own composi- 
tion or elsewhere, by an enumeration of its sensi- 
ble qualities : and in like manner w^e prove the 
existence of mind by a consideration of mental 
phenomena. We know we possess a body by the 
evidence of our senses : and we are equally sure 
that we possess a soul or mind, of a substance 
differing from the body, because we think, feel, 
remember, compare, reason, judge, will, etc. No 



PURE GOLD. 79 

proof can exceed this, and it is as conclusive in 
the one case as in the other. 

The reasons adduced in proof of the spiritual 
essence of the human soul, also have great weight 
in the argument for its immortality: yet this 
great truth does not rest on these alone ; there is 
another class of arguments which bear distinctly 
and conclusively on this point. To some of these 
we will now attend. 

First — It seems necessary to allow a conscious 
existence in another and future state to justify the 
ways of God to man. God is a universal governor, 
and as he is an infinitely good and just being, he 
must be a righteous governor. But if we confine 
our views of his administration to the present life, 
his government cannot be justified. God being 
infinitely perfect, his laws must be perfect : his 
laws being perfect, they must have an equal bear- 
ing upon his subjects ; but if his administration 
be confined to the narrow precincts of this w^orld, 
his laws and government bear most unequally, and 
there is no remedy. In this world, for the most 
part, the wicked bear rule. They are proud, self- 
sufficient, lofty in their claims, and unjust, and 
oppressive in their measures, virtue is persecuted, 
down-trodden, and often receives the punishment 



80 IMMORTALITY. 

due to crime. Where is the remedy, if the empire 
of God extends not beyond this life? We must 
change our views of the goodness of God, and the 
equity, and impartiality of his proceedings, or en- 
large the field of his operations, and give his gov- 
ernment a broader sweep, that it may embrace 
both time and eternity. And if the government 
of God must pass over from this to another state 
that its perfect results may be unfolded, the ex- 
istence of man must be perpetuated beyond the 
tomb, that he may reap the benefit of a perfect 
administration. 

Secondly. — The credibility of man's future ex- 
istence is supported by the analogy of nature. 
Almost every department of animated nature fur- 
nishes examples of a transition from one state of 
existence to another, as remarkable, and before 
experience has established its certainty, as incredi- 
ble, as any that can be supposed necessary to man, 
that he may live in eternity. Not to dwell upon 
the examples usually employed, we will refer only 
to a single illustration — man himself. That man 
in the embryo or infantile state, should pass into 
a new world, or rise from helpless infancy to the 
active business man, the warrior, the statesman, 
the philosopher, the orator, would be as incredible 



PUEE GOLD. 81 

before the demonstration of experience, as that 
man, as he now is, should make his transit from 
this to a conscious future state. And the change 
he experiences in passing from the embryo or in- 
fantile state to the condition of perfect manhood, 
is as great as that which we can suppose neces- 
sary that he may inhabit another world. But the 
change first mentioned, however incredible before 
experience, is a common and obvious fact, and 
hence excites no surprise. It follows therefore, as 
man is in this life, the subject of a change as great 
as may be necessary to introduce him to another 
life, it can never be incredible that he should pass 
through that other change, live in another world, 
and move in a higher and better sphere. 

Thirdly. — The supposition of man's conscious 
existence in a future state is further strengthened 
by the fact, that the soul cannot be affected by 
the power of death. We cannot argue against 
the immortality of the soul from the nature of 
death, because we know nothing of its nature. 
Nor can we conclude anything against immor- 
tality from the effects of death, unless we can 
prove the soul to be a compounded substance. 
We see the effect of death upon the body. It is 
decomposed, dissolved into its original elements. 



82 IMMORTALITY. 

We are sure the body is dead ; but we cannot say 
this of the soul. It is true, we lose sensible com- 
munion with the mind that once animated the 
body ; but it is not because the mind has ceased 
to exist, or has lost any of its original powers, but 
because of the dissolution of the material organ 
through which it made itself known to the exter- 
nal world. Moreover, the soul being a simple, 
indivisible essence, or substance, not subject to 
the laws which govern matter, and hence indis- 
soluble, cannot be destroyed by the power of 
death. If the soul perishes through death, it must 
perish by dissolution : but this cannot possibly 
be, because the soul is not composed of parts. 

" To suppose any substance capable of being 
dissolved which has no parts, is a contradiction : 
it supposes a separation of parts in a being which 
has no parts to be separated. * * * An ex- 
clusion of all parts is necessary to the existence 
of an immaterial substance : and to suppose a 
being dissolved, from the very nature of whose 
existence a capacity of dissolution is necessarily 
excluded, is a flat contradiction : it is supposing a 
being capable and incapable of dissolution at the 
same time. Whatever has parts cannot be im- 
material ; and whatever has no parts can never 



PUEE GOLD. 83 

lose them. To suppose an immaterial substance 
to have parts, destroys its immateriality : for it is 
a contradiction to suppose that to be immaterial, 
which, by its parts, is demonstrated to be other- 
wise : and if the soul be immaterial, which has 
been already proved, it necessarily follows that 
it cannot perish by dissolution/'* 

The conclusion to which we must come is, that 
the soul bears a strict resemblance to what is 
divine, immortal, intellectual,' simple, indivisible, 
indissoluble ; and in its essence and entity is al- 
ways the same. For all that-death can do, then, 
the soul may live forever. Indeed, as our first in- 
troduction to this world was the vacation of our 
first sphere, or the incipient state of our being, 
that we might enjoy another more ample : so it 
seems to accord well w^ith philosophy and reason, 
that death should be to us a sort of second birth, 
a vacation of our present sphere, for one still 
more ample in means and opportunities for de- 
veloping the capacities of our natures. 

Fourthly. — This high destiny of the soul may 
be still further supported by a consideration of the 
nature and adaptation of its powers. It is capa- 
ble of memory, reflection, imagination, contem- 

* Drew. 



84 IMMORTALITY. 

plation, volition, reason, and of being moved with 
religious veneration. Most, if not all these modes 
of the manifestation of mind, are, in their proper 
sense, peculiar to man. And another peculiarity 
is, that improvement of which the powers of the 
soul are susceptible. Brutes soon reach their 
zenith. There is with them no commencement 
to learn, and indefinite progression in knowledge 
and mechanical skill. 

" Their little all flows in at once." 

Not so with man. God has never said, in refer- 
ence to the expansibility and improvement of the 
human mind, " hitherto shalt thou come, and no 
further;" but has evidently possessed it with 
capabilities of indefinite enlargement. " There 
is not a voluntary muscular movement, from that 
of the infant holding a spoon, to the most skilful 
use of the hands and fingers in the nicest and 
most curious arts, where there is not a beginning 
of skill, and then a gradual growth toward per- 
fection, induced by intense and persevering eflforts 
on the part of the will, to work according to some 
purpose or aim of the intelligence."* 

Under favorable circumstances, " the patriarch 

* Tappan on the Will. 



PUEE GOLD. 85 

pupil'' goes on improving the powers of his mind, 
and enlarging the boundaries of mental vision, 
even to the sunset of human life, and for aught 
we know may continue to do so world without 
end. 

Also, the mind is adapted to the contemplation 
of subjects of an eternal nature. For instance, 
the idea of eternal duration. We have no evi- 
dence that any being made to inhabit this world, 
except man, can take in this idea, or pursue it a 
single step. To this we may add the moral gov- 
ernment of God, and the infinite attributes of his 
nature. These are boundless subjects, involving 
considerations which pass beyond the present 
sphere of human activity, and afford eternal em- 
ployment for immortal minds. It seems reason- 
able to suppose, therefore, that minds fitted by 
original constitution for the investigation and con- 
templation of such subjects should be immortal ; 
otherwise there is no adequate opportunity for a 
full development of their powers, or to move in 
that elevated sphere for which their capabilities 
have prepared them. 

The mind is formed to contemplate the attri- 
butes, works, and government of God, and to be 
religiously affected by the survey. And is it 



86 IMMORTALITY. 

reasonable to suppose, that just as we begin to 
open our eyes upon the wonderful works of God, 
and to appreciate the evidences of his " eternal 
power and Godhead," they will be closed to these 
subjects forever? That the emotions of vene- 
ration and gratitude we feel rising within us to- 
ward the author of our being, in view of his glo- 
rious perfections and bountiful goodness, will be 
checked and annihilated before they came to ma- 
turity ? That just as we begin to develop the 
lofty attributes of mind in laudable pursuits, the 
coruscating fires of genius will be quenched in 
eternal night ? That the aspiring soul, animated 
with the desire of immortality, will be suddenly 
arrested in its ascending course, and fall into 
nothingness ? Is this reasonable ? Is it not rather 
reasonable that we do but throw aside the old 
dress to assume a new one, and change our place 
of residence, to pursue the objects of our being 
under circumstances of a more auspicious char- 
acter? 

Fiftlily. — That the soul will live in immortality 
may be argued from its innate, and indomitable 
desire for such destiny. By indulgence man may 
possess himself of many artificial, unnatural ap- 
petites and desires, which are in no important 



PUEE GOLD. 87 

respect necessary to his pahpiness; but so far as 
his desires are innate he cannot be happy with- 
out their gratification. Among his natural de- 
sires, we may reckon his aspiration for immor- 
tahty. This is universal. It exists in all nations, 
and is a concomitant of every degree of civiliza- 
tion. It has its form of expression, as well in the 
gloom of heathenism, as under the cheerful light 
of Christianity. The magnificent Pyramids, and 
rock-hewn tombs of Egypt are the outward em- 
bodiment of this " longing after immortality." 
The mind may be in darkness and doubt as to the 
fact, but the desire still lingers, even after deprav- 
ity has perverted the nature, and our crimes 
make us afraid to live. Fear of future retribution 
may overrule, or suppress, though it cannot an- 
nihilate, the desire for immortality. This desire 
being inherent, God is its Author ; and God being 
its author, he must have intended its gratification. 
For it is not supposable that God would give us a 
constitution, out of which arises naturally, and 
necessarily, the desire, — the prospect of perpetual 
life, and provide no corresponding reality. The 
indulgence of such a thought would be a reflec- 
tion upon the divine character. The bare fact 
that God has given us this ambition to live, should 



IMMORTALITY. 



be received as a sure pledge of endless being. If 
not, why this irrepressible love of life ? 

" Whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 



This longing after immortality ? 

Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror 

Of falling into naught ? Why shrinks the soul 

Back on herself, and startles at destruction ? 

'Tis the divinity that stirs within us ; 

'Tis heaven itself that points out an hereafter, 

And intimates eternity toman." — Addisox's Cato. 

Such are the leading proofs which reason, rec- 
tified and strengthened by true religion, adduces in 
support of human immortality. We have given 
no more than a brief synopsis of the argument 
from reason, yet our limits oblige us to check this 
train of thought here, and introduce the testimony 
of divine revelation. This, indeed, would be con- 
clusive without any other ; but supported as it is 
by the foregoing facts and arguments, it has 
peculiar force. The subject is placed beyond the 
reach of doubt. The voice of God's revealed 
word is clear and distinct in announcing the mo- 
mentous truth discussed in this chapter. 



" Man dieth and wasteth away. 
And where is he ? Hark ! from the skies, 
I hear a voice answer and say, 
The spirit of man never dies !" 



PUEE GOLD. 89 

" Then shall the dust return to the earth as it 
was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave 
it." 

First. — The Bible reveals the existence of 
spirit unconnected with matter. This is a fact 
which now commends itself to our reason ; but 
whether reason would have been able to discover 
it without divine aid is very questionable. " God 
is a spirit," is the language of the sacred oracles : 
a spirit, who exists "from everlasting to everlast- 
ing ;" whose influence is diffused through infinite 
space, and whose intelligence is seen in the for- 
mation and government of the universe. We 
have another example in the revelation given us 
of angels, v/ho are denominated " ministering 
spirits," and whose employment, and proximity 
to the throne of the uncreated God, prove they 
cannot be invested with corporeal natures like our 
own. But if intelligent spirits do exist uncon- 
nected with matter, we need not suppose the in- 
telligent spirit of man in any sense dependent 
upon matter for its existence. 

Secondly. — The Bible reveals the conscious ex- 
istence of man in a future state. " The Fathers, 
where are they T' Where are Enoch and Elijah, 
who went to heaven in a supernatural way? 



90 IMMORTALITY. 

Where are faithful Abraham, pious Isaac, and 
wrestHng Jacob ? Our Lord tells us, " God is 
not the God of the dead, but of the living," and 
yet he announces himself the God of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob. The bodies of these ancient 
patriarchs crumbled to dust more than three 
thousand years ago ; and yet they live — pure and 
spotless they dwell in the presence of a holy God. 
In regard to the future condition of infants, the 
Saviour remarks, " Their angels do always behold 
the face of my Father which is in heaven." To 
the thief upon the cross, he said, " To-day shalt 
thou be with me in Paradise." But enough on 
this point ; man lives in a future state. 

" His body which came from the earth 
Must mingle again with the sod ; 
His soul, which in heaven had birth, 
Returns to the bosom of God." 

Thirdly. — The Scriptures declare the eternity 
of man's future state. This we learn emphatically 
from the manner in which they speak of the re- 
wards and punishments of men in another world. 
These are described in language which indicates 
being without end. The following phraseology, 
" eternal weight of glory," " eternal damnation," 
"everlasting punishment," "everlasting life," 



PURE GOLD. 91 

" eternal life," &c. — establishes with a clearness 
and authority indisputable, the immortality of 
man as a subject of future retribution. Indeed, 
the whole gospel scheme proceeds upon the sup- 
position that man is destined to a future and end- 
less existence, without which, much of it would 
be entirely unmeaning ; and it is this fact that 
gives such tremendous weight to the sanctions by 
which obedience to its claims is enforced. 

A just appreciation of this interesting truth, 
the immortality of the soul, cannot fail to im- 
press the mind with high views of the dignity, 
accountability and destiny of man. It sheds a 
light upon the world which relieves the darkness 
of its dispensations ; places it in fearful relation 
to another and endless state ; and as a probation 
for the future, invests it with an awful and un- 
measured interest. Indeed, God has fixed the 
idea in the mind, and religion reveals it with its 
relative facts, that it may become the source of 
motives and influence of immense practical im- 
portance. This is the use of the doctrine. That 
is, this is the design of God in revealing it to us. 
It is of no consequence whether we have any 
knowledge of our immortality or not, unless such 
knowledge is adapted to improve our character, 



92 IMMOETALITY. 

and fit us for our momentous destiny. All truth 
is from God, and is intended to lead the minds to 
whom it is revealed, to an acquaintance with its 
great source and centre. To the human mind no 
truth can be more important than the one dis- 
cussed in this chapter. It is not more important 
to know there is a God, or that he has given us 
a revelation, or that Christ has redeemed the 
world. It is from this doctrine that all other 
revealed truths derive their moral force and sanc- 
tion. The doctrine of divine government, and 
human responsibility appear to involve interests 
of fearful magnitude, only, as the mind grasps 
strongly and clearly the iuimortality of man. And 
in the same ratio that this truth is doubted, cor- 
rupted or allowed to fade from the view, do those 
other facts to which it stands related, lose their 
controlling moral influence. As there is in man 
in his present moral condition, a distaste for the 
pursuits of religion — the carnal mind being " en- 
mity against God," — the strongest motives that 
can arise out of his endless existence and relations, 
are needed to induce attention to his moral con- 
dition and prospects ; and often do these fail to 
arrest the mind, affect the heart, and produce the 
desired reformation. What then would be the 



PUEE GOLD. 93 

result, were the doctrine of immortality abstract- 
ed from the catalogue of religious truths ? We 
answer, 

First. — The mind would soon lose all distinct 
and consistent views of religion as a system of 
truth. Let the idea be obtained and believed, no 
matter how, that the soul is mortal, that human 
existence at most is bounded by the extent of 
earthly being, and that within this limited sphere 
there are many uncertainties as to its continuance 
another day — that the death of the body which 
may take place any hour, will also destroy every 
moral and intellectual faculty, and annihilate the 
soul forever, and at once, it becomes a matter of 
trifling moment whether we believe in one God, 
or a dozen, or whether there be any God at all in 
being. If there be a God, and he is pleased with 
us, his approbation for a few days is of no great 
consequence : if he be displeased, his anger need- 
not alarm us, since we are so soon beyond his 
reach : and should his retributions become too 
severe, the power of escape is in our own hands. 
Amid the exciting scenes of human life, under 
the strong sensual tendencies of our natures, it is 
obvious that no motives of sufficient strength 
would exist to induce attention to religious sub- 



94 IMMORTALITY. 

jects. Inquiries after religious truth in view of 
moral benefit would be deemed too trifling to at- 
tract notice, unless by way of ridicule. Religious 
doctrines and motives would disappear from the 
field of human thought and feeling, and the gen- 
eral practical maxim would be, " Let us eat and 
drink, for to-morrow we die." 

Secondly. — The doctrine of immortality is ne- 
cessary to the existence of that fortitude which 
must support us, if we meet with firmness, and 
endure with cheerfulness the varied and numer- 
ous afflictions and calamities incident to our pre5- 
ent state, unconnected with the influence it may 
have on the future. Life in this world is only de- 
sirable as it is filled with happiness. Destroy the 
connection of this world with the future — termi- 
nate the existence of the soul at death, and there 
exists no adequate motive for wishing to live 
where the aggregate of misery greatly exceeds 
the sum of happiness. 

" For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, 
The aggressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, 
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, 
The insolence of office, and the spurns 
That patient merit of the unworthy takes. 
When he himself might his quietus make 
With a bare bodkin ?" 



PUEE GOLD, 95 

But when this Hfe is viewed in its relation to an- 
other — as but the vestibule of eternity — and it is 
remembered that the future will, in a moral sense, 
be shaped and determined by the present, happi- 
ness in this life sinks into comparative insignifi- 
cance, and eternity — eternity, is invested with an 
unmeasured interest. 

" Ay, ttiere is the rub :" 

It is this "dread of something after death" — 
this fear of entering an immortal state under un- 
propitious circumstances — this hope that our fu- 
ture being will make amends for earth's adversi- 
ties and toils, that imparts nerve and vigor to our 
purpose to cultivate a virtuous character — to 
" endure as seeing him who is invisible," 

" And makes us rather bear those ills we have, 
Than fly to others that •we know not of." 

Thirdly. — The influence of faith in the immor- 
tality of the soul is of great moment, considered 
in respect to this life. It is an important fact, 
that where this faith is lost, or so corrupted as to 
lose its moral power, man sinks to the condition 
of an intellectual brute : there seems nothing of 
sufficient strength to bind him to God or to man. 
Selfishness, and that of the grossest kind, becomes 



96 IMMORTALITY. 

the ruling principle, and divine and hunfian laws 
are equally powerless, and equally despised, when 
they stand in opposition to his cherished designs. 
Faith in the doctrine of imnnortality and a re- 
sponsible future, is the ground of faith in human 
integrity. It is essential to the exercise of mutual 
confidence. A community of atheists could not 
possibly confide in each other ; and the condition 
of things would be little or no better in a com- 
munity of materialists. With such principles 
society must ever exist in an unsettled and inse- 
cure state. There is nothing in the constitution 
of man, in his powers, principles, tendencies, 
tastes, or feelings, of sufficient intrinsic value to 
form the basis of confidence and security, if his 
existence be confined to the present life — if he be 
not considered as related to a responsible future. 
He can give to his fellow-man no sufficient pledge 
that he will be governed by those principles of 
justice, humanity, and benevolence, essential to 
the well-being of society, if not to its existence. 
If society might possibly hold together, cut loose 
from all the moral influence arising from the doc- 
trine in question, it is evident, that beyond the 
mere fact of existence, no improvement would be 
secured, no good or useful object or end would be 



PUEE GOLD. 97 

reached by it ; and, so far as we can now see, the 
inevitable tendency would be to barbarism. 

Fourthly. — ^^If such be the important bearing 
faith in the immortality of the soul has upon the 
'condition of men, considered as intelligent and 
social beings, what shall we say of their character 
as moral and religious beings ? There may be 
religion where this doctrine is repudiated : but it 
is not, cannot be, true religion. Founded on 
false views of man, nothing just and true can be 
reached in relation to moral character and prac- 
tical results. No virtuous character could be 
formed on a religious basis, because no motives 
would exist except such as commence and termi- 
nate in the present life. There would be no re- 
straining motive arising from the consequences of 
sin in the future — no exciting, encouraging mo- 
tive, arising from the prospect of future and end- 
less rewards. The influence of hope and fear, in 
their religious aspects, is lost, only so far as it may 
act upon the limited basis of a few years of earthly 
being. The retributive administration of Jehovah 
being confined to so brief a space, would be ne- 
cessarily deficient in the character and power of 
its restraints and persuasives. The power to 
stay the progress of injustice, corruption, and 



98 IMMORTALITY. 

gross sensuality would not exist — vice would 
become the rule, and virtue, even in her fainter 
outlines, the rare exception. 

As all these fearful consequences, and much 
more than we can here portray, inevitably connect 
themselves with that grovelling view of man which 
excludes his immortality, and bounds his existence 
by the tomb ; so the same results must stand re- 
lated to any departure from the true notion of im- 
mortality, in the ratio that such departure ob- 
scures and corrupts this doctrine, and weakens its 
moral force. There is but one true doctrine as 
relates to the soul. This we have now given. If 
this be false, the idea of immortality is a chimera. 
This being true, all other theories must be false, 
and they approximate the degrading and infidel 
doctrine of materialism, in the precise degree that 
they depart from this elevated standard of human 
nature, sustained as well by reason as revelation. 

Besides the true scriptural idea of immortality 
as given above, there are two other views, neither 
true nor scriptural : one a heathen speculation — 
the other a corruption of Christianity. The first 
teaches that the soul is a part of God, inhabiting 
and animating the while, a material form, and 
having run its career in the discerpted state, im- 



PUEE GOLD. 99 

mediately at death, or mediately through a series 
of transmigrations, is carried back to its original 
source and resorbed into the Deity. 

It is difficult to conceive of anything more 
absurd than this. It supposes God to exist in an 
infinite number of parts, and that he is therefore 
divisible — to be always giving out parts of him- 
self in the formation of intelligent beings, and re- 
ceiving back into himself other parts given out 
ages before, and therefore changeable, — He "never 
continues in one stay." It supposes part of God 
may be placed under law as a finite being, that it 
may become morally contaminated, and subjected 
to discipline and punishment as a transgressor. 
Moreover, making God divisible and changeable, it 
robs him of his spirituality, and places him and all 
other beings in subjection to the laws which 
govern matter. But if these consequences did 
not follow, this dogma could not be true, since it 
is destructive of immortaKty. That which is to 
lose its separate existence and individuality, no 
matter how, at any time, no matter when, cannot 
be immortal. 

The erroneous view of this subject to which we 
have referred as a corruption of Christianity, is 
that which makes the soul pass into an uncon- 



100 IMMORTALITY. 

scious state, or sleep between death and the resur- 
rection. The advocates of this theory usually 
have some special object to serve by it ; it is 
adopted in most cases, either to give plausibility 
to the annihilation of the wicked, or to prevent the 
consequences of sin committed in this life from 
affecting the condition and happiness of the soul 
in its immortal state. The supposition entertain- 
ed seems to be this — that if the soul can be made 
to lose its existence, at least so far as to lose 
consciousness between death and the resurrection, 
it will wake to consciousness with an improved 
moral character, the effects of sin being left in the 
tomb. On this point w^e remark three things. 

First. — There is no scriptural warrant for the 
notion that the soul passes into an unconscious 
state at death. The term sleep is never used in 
connection with death in reference to a loss of 
mental consciousness : and it probably would 
never have received such an application, had it 
not been supposed to give credibility to other dog- 
mas, remarkably deficient in direct scriptural 
proof. 

Secondly. — The whole tenor of inspired teach- 
ing is against the idea of a sleeping and uncon- 
scious soul after death, and the declarations of 



PUEE GOLD. 101 

Christ and his apostles are singularly clear and 
• plain in proof of the contrai^y doctrine. " To-day 
shalt thou be with me in Paradise," said Christ to 
the thief. Did this mean that they would sleep 
unconsciously in the tomb ? " For to me (says 
Paul) to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I 
live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor : yet 
what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait 
betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be 
with Christ, which is far better : nevertheless to 
abide in the flesh is more needful for you." Then, 
to " hve in the flesh," and to " abide in the flesh," 
are descriptive of the present life in contradistinc- 
tion to life subsequent to death : which though not 
''in the flesh," is, nevertheless, a conscious state — 
a state to be desired in preference to any condition 
of this mortal life ; the Apostle therefore expresses 
a '' desire to depart and be with Christ, which is 
far better." Did he mean to say an unconscious 
sleep of the soul was " far better" than existence 
and active employment in the service of God? 
Would this be departing and being with Christ ? 
But leaving the Scripture, we assert. 

Thirdly. — That the notion that the soul sleeps 
at death, is unphilosophical as it is unscriptural. 
It can only be sustained on supposition that the 
9* 



102 IMMORTALITY. 

soul is material. If, as we have already proved, 
the soul be immaterial, it cannot enter into an un- 
conscious state at death. To become unconscious, 
is to lose the power of thought, which a spiritual 
inteUigence can never do. To lose that which is 
possessed by spirit, supposes something to be taken 
away from the nature of spirit ; but the idea that 
anything can be subtracted from the nature of 
spirit, is a contradiction. Only that which is ma- 
terial can be separated into parts and dissolved. 
The soul not being material cannot be thus sepa- 
rated and dissolved ; and as intelhgence and con- 
sciousness inhere in the very nature and iessence 
of the soul, and the soul can lose nothing from its 
nature or essence by abstraction ; hence the soul 
can never become unconscious. The conclusion, 
then, is inevitable, that the dogma we here oppose, 
is essentially and necessarily materialism : and 
there is no choice between the scriptural and phi- 
losophical doctrine of immortality, as advanced in 
this chapter, and a dissolution of both body and 
soul at death. There can therefore be no true re- 
ligion which does not embrace the doctrine of the 
perpetual consciousness and essential immortality 
of the soul. 



CHAPTER YI. 

TRUE RELIGION EEQUIKES MORAL GOVERNMENT. ANY OTHER 

•WOULD DISAGREE WITH THE DIVINE CHARACTER WOULD NOT 

DISPLAY HIS ATTRIBUTES WOULD EXCLUDE MORAL CHARACTER 

■ — MORAL HAPPINESS MORAL DESTINY, AND THE ENDS OF GOOD 

GOVERNMENT. — ABSURD CONCLUSIONS. THEORY OF A PATERNAL 

GOVERNMENT REFUTED. — THE WHOLE SUMMED UP IN SIX PROP- 
OSITIONS. 

" Our voluntary service he requires. 
Not our necessitated ; such with him 
Finds no acceptance, nor can find ; for how- 
Can hearts, not free, be tried whether they serve 
Willing or no, who will but what they must 
By destiny, and can no other choose ?" — Milton, 

Another infallible test of true religion, is its 
exact agreement with the nature and principles 
of the divine government. It is conceded by all 
who believe in God, that he has established a 
government of some kind; that it is extended 
over all his creatures, and that its ruling princi- 
ples are equity on the part of the governor, and 
obligation on the part of the governed. There 
may be, and are dissimilar ideas of this govern- 
ment entertained and taught by those who have 



104 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

speculated in regard to it, as there are indeed in 
respect to every subject of a religious nature : 
but with those who start right, and reason cor- 
rectly, there must be substantial agreement in 
affirming that the government of God is moral, 
as distinguished from any form of administration 
which would exclude this element, and leave out 
of view a just estimate of moral character and 
desert. The Deity governs physical nature by 
physical laws, and intellectual nature by the laws 
of mind ; but these departments are both subor- 
dinate to the moral. This is the most prominent 
feature of the universe, as it is pre-eminent in the 
character of God. The government of God must 
be moral, or it is not suited to the nature of God, 
or the character of his universe. We cannot 
conceive it possible that any other than a moral 
government should be brought into being by the 
agency of God, because he cannot act against his 
own nature. He must have wise ends to pro- 
mote : his nature is wisdom and goodness, and 
whatever his revealed principles, or established 
'creations may be, they must in the nature of 
things be in perfect concord with each other, and 
with their divine author. 

God is a moral being, having moral attributes 



PUEE GOLD. 105 

that must be displayed under any form of rule he 
may see fit to adopt. He is underived in his ex- 
istence, and absolutely independent of all other 
beings, hence has a right to introduce and estab- 
lish a government based on his own character. 
It would be one of the greatest absurdities of 
which we can form an idea, to suppose an infi- 
nitely wise and perfect God to bring into exist- 
ence a government without direct reference to 
his moral character and attributes. 

A government suited to the moral character of 
God, must aflx)rd opportunity for a united and 
harmonious display of his moral attributes, good- 
ness, wisdom, and holiness. No other than a 
moral government can do. this. We can form 
an idea of a government not moral — a mechanical 
government, made up of a concatenation of un- 
deviating cause and effect, every link of the chain 
moving every other link, and God moving the 
whole : or, like a train of well- arranged machine- 
ry, every part acting on every other part with 
irresistible power. But such an arrangement for 
ruling his subjects could not be denominated 
moral, for the following reasons : — 

First. — There could be no display of the moral 
attributes of God. There could be no goodness. 



106 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

The governmental machine might be perfect in 
itself — might work to admiration as a machine, 
every part maintaining an exact correspondence 
with every other part ; but there could be no 
active manifestation of divine goodness towards 
those whose free and intelligent choice of virtue 
had made them objects of approbation and moral 
desert. The same remarks will also apply to 
justice as a branch of holiness. Could anything 
like vice exist under such an administration it 
could not originate in the subject, and hence 
there could be no ill-desert, and no exercise of 
penal justice, or displeasure against sin. And in 
what way could holiness be exhibited under such 
a rule. Though God be infinitely holy, yet there 
is no principle of his government which develops 
that holiness — no point in his administration 
where he can make an intelligent, active, and 
effective display of it. As the subjects of the 
government we are considering, can be neither 
better nor worse than they are, under those gov- 
ernmental arrangements by which they are ne- 
cessarily controlled, they can neither admire holi- 
ness nor detest its contrary, on account of the 
consequences connected with either, nor can 
they be incited to the cultivation of virtue by 



PURE GOLD. 107 

any possible view of the divine perfections. As 
to wisdom, it might require this to construct such 
a government as above described ; but being 
constructed, nothing but power would be needed 
to keep it in motion. The power of God must 
sit at the head of this great piece of mechanism, 
turning the great iron wheel, whose resistless 
cogs set the whole in motion, and impart an im- 
pulse to the least and most distant part of the 
machinery, while every other divine attribute 
is left entirely unprovided for in its operations. 
In this case fate, irresistible fate, would alone 
preside over the destinies of all beings, and all 
worlds. This would not be a moral government, 
because. 

Secondly. — There could be no such thing as 
moral character pertaining to the subjects of it. 
There would be no moral freedom, and w^here 
this is wanting there can be no power to acquire 
and establish a moral character. Under such an 
arrangement every thought, word, and deed would 
be necessitated. Hence the subject would be 
neither rewardable nor punishable. Blame and 
praiseworthiness could have no existence. There 
could be neither obedience nor rebeUion, neither 
love nor hatred. All actions being mechanical, 



108 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

virtue and vice, were any such thing possible, 
would be but the product of an irresponsible ma- 
chine. All responsibility would commence and 
terminate in God. The subjects of such a rule 
or government could give no proof 

" Of true allegiance, constant faith, or love, 
Where only what they needs must do appears." 

Thirdly. — The power of moral choice being 
impossible under such government, there could be 
no such thing as moral happiness : and herein is 
another proof that the form of divine government 
described above, did it exist, would not be moral, 
and could lead to no moral results. Indeed, we 
do not see how anything entitled to be called hap- 
piness, even of a physical or intellectual charac- 
ter, could have being under such a governmental 
control. So far as we can see, to deprive man 
of the powgr of choice in regard to physical and 
intellectual pursuits, is to rob him of happiness 
arising from the susceptibilities and powers of 
these departments of his nature. Be this as it 
may, it is quite plain this result would follow in 
respect to his moral nature. For, everything 
else being favorable, there are yet two things 
essential to moral happiness. There must be a 
power of choice, and a consciousness of having 



PUEE GOLD. 109 

made a right choice. That which we may not 
choose, either in its reception or continuance, is 
not properly a source of happiness to an intelli- 
gent moral being. Hence, under a government 
in which irresistible fate presides, and determines 
all actions, there can be no moral happiness. Nor 
can there be any consciousness of having done 
right, which is also an indispensable element of 
moral happiness. When the actions of men, or 
the results at which they arrive, are all necessi- 
tated, such consciousness cannot possess the 
mind, or form an element of thought or feeling. In 
such relations to a higher power it would be im- 
possible to say truthfully, " Herein do I exercise 
myself, to have always a conscience void of 
offence." 

Fourthly. — The question of human agency will 
be discussed in another place, but we remark here, 
that from the government described above as me- 
chanical, and necessitating the actions of its sub- 
jects, no moral destiny could flow. The follow- 
ing elements must be recognized as inseparably 
united in a moral destiny, viz. : a moral character 
w^hich determines the relation of the subject to the 
law and government, as loyal or disloyal, obedient 
or rebellious — a consciousness of having had an 
10 



110 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

unnecessitated agency in the formation of such 
character — a sense of the favor or disfavor of God, 
the law-maker and governor, on account of the 
moral attitude sustained — and positive happiness 
or unhappiness springing from the concurrence of 
all these circumstances, and increased as to inten- 
sity by self-approval or condemnation. Neither 
of these mental or moral states or feelings can be 
separated from the rest without destroying the 
proper idea of moral destiny. And yet not one 
of them can have any existence, if the govern- 
ment of God be not strictly moral. Whatever the 
final issue might be to the subject, it would, it 
must, be destitute of every feature essentially be- 
longing to moral destiny. The mechanical pro- 
ducts of such an administration, would not be 
suited to any future state or condition of being, 
as yet revealed to us. In winding up the affairs 
of a course of absolute sway, in which God has 
been the only responsible agent, the judge would 
not be able to say with either truth or consistency, 
" Thou hast been faithful over a few things," or, 
" Take ye the unprofitable servant, and cast him 
into outer darkness." 

Fifthly. — No other than a moral government 
can promote and sustain the only justifiable ends 



PURE GOLD, 111 

of government — the glory of God, and highest 
good of intelligent creatures. There may be 
subordinate designs and ends of creation and gov- 
ernment, great in number and variety, but they 
are all necessarily embraced in these two leading 
purposes. If God is not glorified in the operations 
of his government, it must be because it is not 
suited to his nature, or adapted to promote the 
objects which must ever be dear to him. In a 
government like that described as mechanical, 
excluding moral freedom, moral character as 
formed in the exercise of moral freedom, moral 
happiness as springing from both, and moral des- 
tiny as resulting from the whole, there does not 
appear any possible chance to proclaim or exhibit 
the glory of God as a moral being. Could we ab- 
stract the intellect and physical power of God, 
from all else embraced in his infinitely perfect 
character, and look at their creations alone, leav- 
ing out of view all moral considerations, we should 
doubtless find even then much to admire in the 
specimens of mechanism and stupendous power 
furnished us. But were this all, our admiration 
must have corresponding limits : there would be 
nothing to excite gratitude, love, or devotion, or 
strongly impress the mind, and fill it with reli- 



112 MORAL GOYERXME^^T. 

gious emotions. The mechanical skill and unlim- 
ited power of Jehovah might astonish us, but be- 
holding no glorious display of moral attributes, 
there would be no religious element in that aston- 
ishment. As God is a moral being, he has other 
attributes than those which find employment in 
the construction and conduct of an unintelligent 
machine — attributes which would not be honored 
by a mechanical government ; whose sphere of 
action is above and beyond the possibilities of such 
an arrangement. To establish a perfect congruity 
between God and his government, we must de- 
grade the divine character, govern him by abso- 
lute fate, and thus make him a subordinate to fate 
or identical with it, or, we must repudiate the idea 
of a government of necessity, and raise the plan 
of divine administration into harmony with God, 
as a wise, holy, and benevolent being. This being 
done, the field is open ; and it is sufficiently ex- 
tensive to admit moral law and its application, 
moral government and its operations and results 
to any extent required to display the moral per- 
fections of Deity. 

The second end or design of creation and gov- 
ernment, the highest good of intelligent beings, 
is also inseparable from moral government, unless 



PUEE GOLD. 113 

we deprive man of his moral constitution. If man 
be allowed to have a moral nature, the laws and 
government of God must be adapted to that 
nature, or, we find intelligent beings in existence 
with powers and susceptibilities that have been 
overlooked in the divine arrangement. If we take 
away the moral nature of the subject, provision 
may be made, perhaps, for a mechanical develop- 
ment of mental and physical nature without moral 
government ; but as such development could not 
be marked by good or ill desert, the idea of moral- 
ity would be excluded, and moral obligation, and 
moral retribution, could have no existence. 

It comes, then, just to this : if we make the gov- 
ernment of God absolute as to all the events em- 
braced in it, so that all actions done by men or 
angels are so many resistless sequents of its uni- 
form and harmonious motion, we must suppose 
its subjects have no moral nature ; or, if they have 
God is under no obligation to provide for it, or 
disregards that obligation, and hence either God is 
unjust, or the highest good of his subjects is ex- 
pressed in the mechanical unfolding and use of 
physical and intellectual powers — or, which is the 
only rational conception of the subject, the nature 
of God, the character of his government, and the 
10* 



114 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

constitution of man are in perfect correspondence 
as to their moral elements, and the highest good 
of intelligent beings is reached, when under equi- 
table moral laws, in the exercise of moral freedom, 
and by the power of the intellectual and moral 
faculties, excited and brought into action by moral 
motives, God is recognized as creator and gov- 
ernor — is worshipped as the only being worthy 
of supreme affection — and, when his laws are 
obeyed, his favor sought and found, and the sub- 
ject lives, and moves, and has his being, in time 
and eternity, under the blissful influence of divine 
approbation. 

We have now reached a point, when, as ap- 
pears to us, the conclusion must, to all intelli- 
gent minds, be resistless, that God has estabHshed 
a moral government over his intelligent subjects ; 
that he holds them to a strict accountabihty as 
moral beings, and in the final issue will judge and 
reward or punish them, according to their works, 
or moral desert. This conclusion being undoubt- 
edly true, it must also follow that all forms, or 
modifications of government which conflict with 
this, are to the same extent false ; and nothing 
can be more plain than the falsity of a govern- 
ment which excludes moral freedom and moral 



PURE GOLD. 115 

destiny. Such is that plan of administration 
which we have denominated mechanical and 
absolute. A religion suited to such a govern- 
ment, so far from being true, would be no religion 
at all, unless there can be a mechanical religion ; 
a religion without a soul, without the action of 
motives and moral principle, and where there is 
no just estimate of moral character and desert. 
There is another form of government, denom- 
inated paternal, of which many very pretty things 
have been spoken and written, but which is also 
proved to be false by the foregoing reasoning. 
This theory (the paternal rule of God) bases the 
government of God on his character as Father, 
and forms and interprets his laws, and all the acts 
of his administration in harmony with this one 
idea. It admits no element, principle, motive, 
remedy or design, beyond, or different from what 
a good earthly father would introduce and apply 
in the government of his family. It requires us 
to form our ideas of the divine government from 
human institutions. Instead of arguing from 
divine to human, it reverses the process, and re- 
quires us to argue from human to divine — to 
conclude from human analogies what God ought 
to do in the government of the universe. To 



116 MORAL GOYEENMEXT. 

those who think soberly and correctly, this method 
of determining what is or is not truth, in refer- 
ence to God and his government, stands out be- 
fore the mind as simply absurd. We do not say 
that God is not a Father, or that his paternal 
character and relation have no influence in form- 
ing the character, and dictating the policy of his 
government. We admit as much in this direc- 
tion, as either reason or Scripture requires, and 
yet the idea that the_paternity of God is the basis 
of all his laws and governmental regulations, is an 
unsupported and gratuitous^ assumption. 

We cannot now consider this subject in all its 
numerous phases, but the conclusion just stated 
will be sufficiently sustained in the estimation of 
impartial reasoners by referring to two circum- 
stances. 

First. — Paternity is not a divine attribute. It 
is only a relative term, expressive of a relation 
wliich is not necessary to the divine existence. 
And is it reasonable that the infinite God whose 
character is formed of an assemblage of glorious 
and unlimited attributes, would leave them all out 
of view in so important a matter as his govern- 
ment, and proceed to establish it upon a mere 
relation ? Moreover, the divine government is 



PUEE GOLD. 117 

distinguished by two important principles, benev- 
olence and justice. Whence are these prin- 
ciples derived ? are they original and eternal ? 
or, are they accidental and limited ? If original 
and eternal, then do they inhere in the character 
of God as an infinite being, and not in a mere 
relation which he has assumed to finite creatures. 
But if the government of God be based on his 
paternity-^be strictly and entirely paternal, then 
does it follow that the principles of justice and 
benevolence which lead and distinguish his ad- 
ministration, have no existence, only as displayed 
through his paternity ; that is, the Deity is nei- 
ther just nor benevolent as God, but only as 
Father. This conclusion cannot be refuted by 
saying God is a just Father, a benevolent Father, 
a wise and holy Father — and so on ; for, this 
would be to give up the point against which our 
argument is directed — to remove the divine gov- 
ernment from the paternity of God, and place it, 
where it must stand if it exist at all, on his attri- 
butes ; leaving his character as Father where it 
should be left, to hold a subordinate relation, and 
exert a corresponding influence. 

Secondly. — The other circumstance to which 
we have alluded as proving the falsity of this 



118 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

theory of government, is, that it excludes moral 
retribution as governed by an infallible and in- 
flexible standard of moral rectitude : it violates, 
and annihilates, that fundamental rule of God's 
government, requiring every man to be punished 
according to his deeds. As the paternal govern- 
ment is strictly one of discipline, and in regard 
to the wayward and rebellious, its only aim is to 
reform them ; with their free consent if practi- 
cable, without their consent if necessary ; it is 
self-evident that no rule of retribution can exist, 
which in its action shall graduate favor or disfavor 
toward the subject according to moral desert. 
Under such a government, the turpitude of the 
offender is not determined by the character of 
God, and the purity of his law ; not by his knowl- 
edge, motives, or relations ; nor by all of these 
together ; nor by any other standard that will 
charge upon him a definite amount of moral turpi- 
tude. The question is not. What does the sinner 
deserve ? but, What will be necessary to reform 
him ? The rule of such an administration does not 
require the offender to be punished according to 
his deeds, or moral desert, but according to that 
amount of punishment requisite to bring him to 
repentance. It is, inferred, not from the infinitudes 



PUEE GOLD. 119 

and perfections of God's character, law and gov- 
ernment, as they are adjusted to the constitution 
and powers of men, but from the finitudes of men ; 
that is, from their dispositions, tastes and feelings, 
without regard to moral desert, or the claims of 
moral justice. In such government, the rule of 
retribution depends not on anything infinite, fixed 
and stable, but upon that which is finite, and 
variable as the mutations of the human character. 
To sum up all in few words, the theory of divine 
government denominated paternal, teaches that 
the sinner deserves no punishment — no proof of 
divine displeasure, unless he can be reformed by 
it ; that the punishment is in every case a bless- 
ing, and it is injustice and cruelty if this be not 
its result — that the only design of punishment is 
to produce repentance — that the sinner deserves 
to be punished until he repents, and when he 
repents he has been punished to the full extent of 
his deserts. How incongruous all this is, with 
correct notions of a moral government, is, we 
trust, made sufficiently obvious by the foregoing 
explanations and arguments. We will conclude 
this chapter with a brief summary of what true 
religion teaches relative to divine government. 
First. — God as a moral being, has established 



120 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

a government, based on his character and attri- 
butes, and adapted to display his moral perfections 
to an intelligent universe. 

Secondly. — The laws of the moral universe be- 
ing derived from the nature of God, are, like him- 
self, absolutely perfect, and express to his subjects 
the holiness, goodness, wisdom, and justice of the 
Creator and governor, and under the operation of 
these laws the prominent features of the divine 
reign are equity and benevolence. 

Thirdly. — The laws and government of God 
being moral, present to intelligent beings an infalli- 
ble standard of moral rectitude, by which good 
or ill desert is determined, the turpitude of sin is 
ascertained, and retribution must be governed ; 
hence the subjects of this government must have a 
moral nature, moral powers, a capacity to under- 
stand the law and the claims of government, and 
ample ability to render the required obedience. 

Fourthly. — The subjects of the divine govern- 
ment being moral, and responsible in their char- 
acter and relations, do, and must, possess moral 
freedom : without which there would be no har- 
mony between them and the government to which 
they stand related, no ability in their constitution 
to respond to the claims of government, and inas- 



PUEE GOLD. 121 

much as moral desert depends on moral freedom, 
they would be incapable of either virtue or vice, 
without character, entitled to no reward, and ex- 
posed to no punishment. 

Fifthly. — As God governs by the principles of 
moral law, and holds his subjects amenable for 
the use they make of their freedom and other 
powers as moral beings, his providence furnishes 
the m.eans of information, respecting the nature 
and claims of his law, the extent of obligation, 
and the consequences of loyalty or rebellion. 
While, therefore, his subjects act freely, they also 
act understandingly, and not without feeling the 
force of motives ; and will not be able in the 
issue to plead ignorance in bar of just retribu- 
tion. 

Sixthly. — As God is immutable, his government 
changeless, and his laws fixed and unalterable, so, 
he has given man a fixed character as to free- 
dom and accountability : and no part of the divine 
plan, or constitution of things, will ever be changed 
to accommodate transgressors, or arrest the ir- 
reparable consequences of violating the laws and 
conditions of their being. God will not punish 
the sinner more than he deserves, even for the 
laudable purpose of reforming him ; and he will 
11 



122 MORAL GOVERNMENT. 

not punish him less in disregard of justice, to save 
him from any results, however ruinous. It is an 
undeviating rule in the divine government, that 
"whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also 
reap." The subject being bound to the extent 
of his powers, during his entire being, cannot by 
possibility satisfy for obliquity or delinquency ; 
and the law being exactly right, requiring neither 
too much nor too little, allows no lenity, or hope, 
that displeasure once incurred, can, through hu- 
man agency alone, ever be removed. 

A religion that harmonizes these principles is 
in concord with Deity, agrees with his word, and 
must be true ; but a system which subverts even 
one of them, thereby renders the whole plan in- 
harmonious, and must be false. 



CHAPTER YII. 

MAN A MORAL AGENT. IJTPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE.— MORAL 

AGENCY EXPLAINED. PROOF. THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT. CON- 
SCIENCE. CONSCIOUSNESS. ^MORAL FREEDOM ESSENTIAL TO HAP- 
PINESS. COMMON CONSENT. REVELATION. " MOTIVE THEORY." 

DISPROVED BY ITS CONSEQUENCES. ANOTHER ERROR STATED 

AND REFUTED. 

" Freely they stood who stood, and fell who fell. 
Not free, what proof could they have given sincere 
Of true allegiance, constant faith, and love, 
When only what they needs must do appeared? 
T found them free, and free they must remain 
Till they enthrall themselves; I else must change 
Their nature, and revoke the high decree 
Unchangeable, eternal, which ordaiued 
Their freedom ; they themselves ordained their falL" 

Milton. 

It is worthy of particular consideration, that a 
religion, to be true, must agree as well with the 
moral constitution of man, as with that of the 
divine government. It must embrace a distinct 
recognition of the moral agency, and freedom of 
the creature. As without moral freedom the sub- 
jects of divine law and rule cannot be accounta- 
ble, nor possess moral character as formed by 



124 MORAL AGENCY. 

their conduct, so a system of religion which does 
not address itself to men as free, is wholly incon- 
gruous, and out of joint with the character, rela- 
tions, and powers they sustain. A theology which 
coerces human conduct, or chains the will to the 
strongest motive, places mind upon the same level 
with matter under the laws of the physical world : 
nor would there be any more intelligence and 
virtue in the conduct of mind than of matter, un- 
der such an arrangement. It is the object of true 
religion to exalt man, but such a theory degrades 
him, and robs him of every noble and godlike 
feature of his character. In the expressive lan- 
guage of Neander, it is " the degradation of a 
moral being, and of virtue, making it mechanical." 
The moral agency of man was incidentally 
and briefly considered in the chapter on divine 
government; but the importance of the subject 
will justify, and indeed calls for, a more extended 
and critical notice. Very much depends upon 
correct views of human agency in all ethical dis- 
cussions, as well as in determining the extent of 
accountability. The adoption of a theory essen- 
tially erroneous, changes the structure of virtue, 
and unsettles the foundations of morality. A re- 
ligion which does not embrace, practically, the doc- 



PUEE GOLD. 125 

trine of moral freedom, is false in the ruling prin- 
ciple of moral character; and this error will act 
negatively and perniciously upon the influence 
of the truth with which it stands connected. 

In regard to this, as other fundamentals of re- 
ligion, there is only one true doctrine. It is de- 
sir-able that the exact truth should be clearly per- 
ceived and heartily embraced in every case, but 
pre-eminently so in this : since, as relates to man, 
it is the point at which we must start in estima- 
ting his moral character, and calculating the na- 
ture of his destiny. If he be a mere machine, 
and moves only when acted upon by a power 
above him, which he neither can nor desires to 
resist, we may dismiss our anxieties at once in 
respect to any consequences that may follow, 
either here or hereafter. And if his agency and 
freedom be of such a description that the fruits 
of misdoing do not, and cannot, follow him be- 
yond the tomb, then, though we may labor for 
his improvement and happiness here, we may, 
and should, relinquish our fears in respect to the 
future. But, if neither of these be the true view, 
or embrace the whole truth ; if man be a moral 
agent under the government of God in the highest 
and fullest sense of the word ; if his moral re- 
11* 



126 MORAL AGEXCy. 

sponsibility is confined to no limited sphere, like 
that of his earthly being, but the results of moral 
choice will live in eternity, and endure commen- 
surate with an immortal existence, the subject 
becomes invested at once with an unmeasured in- 
terest, and should receive corresponding attention. 

To our mind, this is the true state of the case : 
— having provided all the advantages requisite to 
the maturest character and highest bliss, God de- 
volves on us the fearful responsibility of deter- 
mining what the issue shall be — whether we will 
reach the goal of moral perfection and changeless 
happiness which his goodness and wisdom have 
placed within our reach, or, whether we will fall 
below this high resolve, and forfeit the endless 
boon. 

If the question be asked, what is moral agency, 
our answer is, that it is responsibility ; and if the in- 
quiry be repeated respecting responsibility, our re- 
ply must be, that it is answerableness, or account- 
ability. The leading idea is, that as subjects of 
government, we are capable of giving an answer — 
responsus from respondeo — as to the reasons, in- 
ducements, or motives of our conduct. And not 
only capable, but llahle, and conscious of this lia- 
bility, and that we are worthy of praise or blame 



PUEE GOLD. 127 

according to our motives and conduct. Ttiis 
consciousness supposes intelligence sufficient to 
perceive and comprehend the laws under which 
we are placed, including the laws of conscience, 
which according to the moral light enjoyed antici- 
pates the decision of the law given, and the retri- 
bution that must follow. " There is a superior 
principle of reflection or conscience in every 
man, which distinguishes between the internal 
principles of his heart as well as his external ac- 
tions, which passes judgment upon himself and 
them : pronounces determinately some actions to 
be in themselves just, right, and good — others to 
be in themselves evil, wrong, and unjust : which 
without being consulted, without being advised 
with, magisterially exerts itself, and approves or 
condemns him: and which, if not forcibly stopped, 
naturally and always, of course, goes on to antici- 
pate a higher and more effectual sentence, which 
shall hereafter second and affirm its own."* 

However, the meaning of the terms moral and 
agency are so well understood, that an elaborate 
and critical definition is not needed — the whole of 
what might be said by way of defining terms, may 
be simplified thus : — 

* Butler. 



128 MOEAL AGENCY. 

He is a moral agent who is capable of moral ac- 
tions : and an action is rendered moral by two 
circumstances — that it is voluntary, and that it has 
respect to some rule or law which determines it 
to be good or evil. Moral agency therefore sup- 
poses that the divine law is revealed to the moral 
subject, and that he has power to obey or disobey, 
with a full knowledge of the consequences, as to 
good or evil, that will follow. Hence says Locke, 
" Moral good, and evil, is the conformity or dis- 
agreement of our voluntary actions to some law, 
whereby good or evil is brought upon us from the 
will or power of the law-maker." 

The results of this moral freedom to man, may 
be thus stated. The legal moral constitution un- 
der w^hich they are placed, secures life to the obe- 
dient, but dooms offenders to die. It is the office 
of distributive justice to execute this penalty, as 
well as to bestow the rewards of obedience. In 
being rewarded, they experience the appointed re- 
sults of their voluntary obedience. In being pun- 
ished with death, they receive the appointed end 
of their voluntary disobedience, and are bound as 
well by their own nature and relations, as by the 
natural force and effect of moral law, and the na- 



PUEE GOLD. 129 

ture of its penalty, to abide the consequences of 
their own acts. 

The way being prepared by these statements 
and explanations of the nature of moral freedom, 
and the legitimate and necessary issues to which 
it conducts the moral subject, we will now at- 
tend to the arguments, direct and indirect, by 
which the doctrine is established. 

First. — Its truth is a necessary inference from 
the moral government of God. We shall not re- 
peat the proofs already adduced to sustain moral 
government ; it is assumed in this investigation 
that such is the nature of divine control over his 
creatures. The object now is, to show the rela- 
tion between that established fact, and the doc- 
trine in question. This is an argument a priori, 
in which we reason from what is known to what 
is not known : between that which is fixed and 
undoubted, and that which is undefined and doubt- 
ful, we perceive such a connection and corres- 
pondence, that the latter becomes as clear and 
unquestionable as the former. The same pro- 
cess enables us to determine the nature of divine 
government by considering the character of God. 
The argument a priori, determines that as the 
attributes of Jehovah are moral, and must be dis- 



130 MOEAL AGENCY. 

played in his works and ways, they must there- 
fore give form and character to his administra- 
tion. Equally clear is it, that the government of 
God being moral, it requires a corresponding 
character on the part of its subjects. Could we 
ascertain without direct reference to divine gov- 
ernment, (which is possible) that man is blessed 
with moral freedom, from this stand point we 
might reason back to the nature of the govern- 
ment under which he is placed. This would be 
an argument a posteriori, by which we conclude 
from effect to cause. If moral freedom in the 
subject presupposes moral government, most cer- 
tainly, moral government requires moral freedom ; 
the two stand so related to each other, that one 
cannot be true and the other false. Either moral 
government is false, or moral agency must be true. 
But as moral government has both the character 
of God and the accountability of man to sustain 
it, so all these point unerringly to moral freedom 
in the subject. 

All government supposes subjects suited to its 
nature. Physical laws and government act only 
on physical substances ; intellectual laws govern 
the action of mind. Absolute law and govern- 
ment do not require intelligence, and will admit 



PURE GOLD. 131 

no responsibility or power of choice. In these 
cases, there is a perfect fitness in the relations 
subsisting between the subject and object, and the 
governing rule and authority under which they 
exist and act. But in the case under considera- 
tion, this fitness in the relation and adaptation of 
the subject to the government, is not only perfect, 
but must have been particularly designed by the 
Supreme Ruler, inasmuch as it is that depart- 
ment of his works in which his glory is specially 
involved. Consistency and wisdom demand that 
harmony be preserved in the unintelligent and ir- 
responsible departments of his universe ; but in 
the moral department the additional influence of 
justice and benevolence requires that all discord 
should be avoided— that he should not "reap 
where he has not sown, nor gather up where he has 
not strewed." 

From these remarks it will be seen that the 
steps by which we reach our corollary, are few 
and simple. The attributes of God must be dis- 
played, if at all, through a moral government — 
such government implies responsibility in the sub- 
ject — and responsibility in the subject implies un- 
restrained freedom, or moral agency. " Whatso- 
ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." 



132 MOKAL AGENCY. 

Secondly. — We derive another argument for 
moral agency from that attribute or faculty of our 
nature, denominated conscience. " ConscienxJe 
and consciousness, by etymology and in their 
general scope, are synonymous. They express 
self-knowledge. They have, however, a technical 
distinction. Conscience, by this distinction, em- 
braces self-knowledge relatively to responsibility ; 
consciousness expresses self-knowledge in genera], 
without referring particularly to responsibility. 
Thus conscience is the knowledge of a volition 
or affection, as right or wrong ; consciousness is 
the knowledge of any mental phenomena what- 
ever. Consciousness is the generical term ; con- 
science is a specific and limited form of conscious- 
ness."* From this statement (which seems just) 
it appears that conscience covers much less 
ground than consciousness — that its office does 
not extend beyond the department of morality, 
or that when it extends beyond that department 
it ceases to be conscience, and resolves itself into 
mere consciousness, because it does not compare 
the knowledge of self with any moral standard of 
right and wrong. It is not so important to obtain 
an exact definition of conscience, as to know what 
* Tappan on the Will. 



PURE GOLD. 133 

it does, and under what laws and conditions it 
acts. Writers on moral science differ widely as 
to the former, but as to the latter there is a sub- 
stantial agreement. The existence of the thing is 
certain to all reflecting men, as also, that it refers 
particularly to morals, and moral responsibility. 
It acts under, and in reference to the moral laws 
and conditions of man as a moral being. Its 
sphere is within that of mental activity in the 
moral universe. It is embraced in the reason, 
and its authority does not fall below, nor trans- 
cend that of reason itself. 

Conscience then supposes moral law, and recog- 
nizes the distinction between right and wrong. 
Even before the standard which determines what 
is right and what is wrong is clearly perceived, 
this distinction is recognized as a necessary and 
eternal distinction. While the mind has only a 
confused and indistinct view of the infalUbie stan- 
dard, the decisions of conscience will, in reference 
to specific cases, be similarly indeterminate ; but 
as mind acquires more perfect knowledge of the 
standard, or law, conscience becomes more clear 
and precise, more authoritative, and brings home 
to the heart, or moral sense, with greater force, 
the ascertained qualities of moral action. 
12 



184 MORAL AGENCY. 

Now, as without moral freedom there can be 
no law binding us in a moral sense, it is equally- 
clear, there can be no conscience, or con- 
sciousness of right or wrong as pertaining to our 
actions, unless the will have a self-determining 
power. If we have no power independent of 
motive, or outward circumstances, and external 
influence to determine our course of action under 
the law and government of God, it is obvious there 
can be no self-condemning power — there can be 
no faculty of the man that can act as umpire, and 
impress the moral sense with a conviction of guilt. 
It is therefore just as certain that the will is free, 
that is, that we are moral agents, as that we 
possess this faculty, or conscience. 

We go another step, and say, conscience does 
more than merely determine the morality of our 
actions, and disquiet us with feelings of self-con- 
demnation. It impresses the offender that he 
stands related to a retribution — a retribution that 
is not comprised in the self-inflictions of con- 
science ; which does not terminate with the re- 
coiling sting of the viper sin : 

" 0, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven." 

A law has been violated infinitely higher than 



PUEE GOLD. 135 

that of the human constitution — the law of God. 

Its sentences proceed upon the assumption that 
we are bound to obey, and in default thereof 
must meet the inflictions of divine justice. It 
performs the office both of a monitor, reminding 
us of our duty, and exciting us to attend to it, and 
of a subordinate judge, summoning us before its 
tribunal, and pronouncing us innocent or guilty. 
The decisions of conscience anticipate, and fore- 
warn us of the certainty and nature of that retri- 
bution, which the future will reveal through a 
display of God's righteous justice. As God has 
proclaimed in his word, so he declares by human 
conscience — men are free. 



-" Each must answer for himself, 



And as his own peculiar work shall be 

Done by his proper sel:^ shall live, or die." — Pollok. 

Thirdly. — Consciousness furnishes an unan- 
swerable proof of moral agency. Consciousness, 
as already stated, covers more, ground than con- 
science. The latter is confined to questions of 
morality, but the former embraces all relations 
and subjects, in reference, to which the mind 
perceives, and the will acts. " Consciousness is 
the necessary knowledge which the mind has of 
its own operations. In knowing, it knows that 



136 MORAL AGEXCY. 

it knows. In experiencing emotions and sensa- 
tions, it knows it experiences them. In willing 
or exercising acts of causality, it knows it wills, 
or exercises such acts. This is the common, uni- 
versal, and spontaneous consciousness."* 

This being a true description of consciousness, 
it necessarily embraces the following particulars, 
viz. : knowledge of existence — knowledge of ac- 
tion—and knowledge of freedom in acting. In 
respect to each of these, the mind needs no proof 
except that which it possesses by intuition. Our 
existence is not to ourselves susceptible of proof: 
it does not need to be proved. To say our exist- 
ence needs proof, is to admit there are grounds 
of doubt in respect to it, which every man's con- 
sciousness denies. Moreover, that which is 
proved must be considered in relation to some- 
thing else more certain than itself, or which the 
mind perceives to be so. But as the mind can 
perceive nothing more certain than its own exist- 
ence, there is no possible chance for proof, and 
no need of it. If the mind could prove its own 
existence, it would not be so certain of existence 
as it now is. The fact of existence rests upon 
pure, perfect, and independent knowledge, or con- 

* Tappan. 



PUEE GOLD. 187 

sciousness. The same is true in respect to ac- 
tion. There can be nothing more certain to the 
mind than its own action. Whether by memory, 
imagination, contemplation, or the more sohd and 
difficult employment of reasoning, and investiga- 
tion, the fact, or reality of the mental activity is 
full and perfect in the consciousness. The con- 
clusion we draw from these indisputable positions 
respecting the knowledge implied, or embraced 
in consciousness, will, I know, be received by a 
class of minds with hesitation. And yet I see 
not how it can, in any fairness, be avoided. If 
consciousness be competent to decide the ques- 
tion of personal existence and mental action, it is 
equally capable of determining whether action be 
free. By what law of mind or rule of logic con- 
sciousness is allowed to give valid testimony in 
one case and not in the other, remains to be ex- 
plained. The knowledge of existence, action and 
freedom are alike within the sphere of the mind. 
Collateral evidence may be obtained from other 
sources, but nothing that is primary, except from 
and w^ithin the mind itself. Here is the first and 
strongest proof — consciousness ; the knowledge 
the mind has of itself, and of its own operations. 
Without this all else would be unsatisfactory ; 
12* 



138 MOEAL AGENCY. 

with this the freedom of the will is established. 
To use the language of Dr. Johnson, " we know 
the will is free, and that is enough." 

Fourthly. — Man is a moral agent because such 
a constitution is necessary to his happiness. That 
he was created for happiness is admitted by all 
whose opinions are entitled to respect, and hence 
need not be proved. But we must also remem- 
ber he was created for moral and religious happi- 
ness ; his intellectual and moral powers and sus- 
ceptibilities are the marks which distinguish hu- 
manity from the brute creation. In creating 
man for happiness, reasoning a priori, we must 
conclude God would so adjust his relations to 
divine law and government, and to the intellectual 
and physical world around him, as best to secure 
the end he had in view. If moral freedom be in 
any important sense necessary to human happi- 
ness, we must suppose God has given him that 
noble endowment. 

We have remarked elsewhere, that what is not 
an object of choice, either in its reception or con- 
tinuance, is not properly a source of happiness to 
an intellectual moral being. Possibly there might 
be no positive misery were the power of choice 
denied ; but certain it is, there could be no ra- 



PUEE GOLD. 139 

tional exalted happiness. True happiness depends 
on three circumstances : it must be rational — it 
must arise from the approbation of God— it must 
be connected with a consciousness of rectitude. 
But neither of these circumstances can be real- 
ized without moral agency. Where there is no 
power of choice there can be no practical com- 
parison, or application of judgment and reason, 
and hence no rational happiness. There can be 
no self-approval, because no choice of virtue 
rather than vice, where either is possible ; hence 
no consciousness of rectitude. And as to the 
approbation of God, how can this exist when 
there is no virtue in man to approve, or if there 
be, it is not there as a matter of choice, but of ne- 
cessity ? 

Now, as these elements of true happiness can- 
not exist without moral agency, one of two con- 
clusions must be adopted — God has withheld the 
power of true happiness — or, he has endowed 
men with moral freedom. As the first, for ob- 
vious reasons cannot be admitted, the last must 
be true. 

Fiftlilij. — The doctrine of moral agency is con- 
firmed as true by the common consent of man- 
kind, as illustrated in the governments, laws, and 



140 MORAL AGEKCY. 

customs of all nations, in all ages ; by the stand- 
ards of right and wrong, by which moral charac- 
ter is tested ; by the approbation or disapproba- 
tion which public opinion and law visits upon 
men, according to the vicious or virtuous char- 
acter of their conduct. These governments, 
laws, and regulations are based on truth or false- 
hood. If on falsehood, then all government must 
be founded in a lie, and falsehood, not truth, is 
the bond of human society, and should be sought 
as the highest theoretic good of man. But if on 
truth, what is that truth ? It is human freedom 
and responsibility! A conviction of this truth, 
arising from universal consciousness, pervades 
society, and forms the ruling principle of all con- 
ventional arrangements and governmental enact- 
ments. And it is this conviction that man is, and 
of right ought to be, free, to think, speak, and act 
under suitable responsibilities to God and to gov- 
ernment, which gives the world its intellectual 
and moral force and enterprise. This has been 
at the bottom of every contest for an improved 
state of society in church and state. This is that 
revolutionary spirit which has swept away with 
resistless force so many bulwarks of despotism. 
This is the progressive spirit of the age in which 



PUEE GOLD. 141 

we live, which aims at, and will be satisfied with 
nothing less, than just laws and equal rights for 
the whole family of man. Were man not en- 
dowed with moral freedom, he would be incapa- 
ble of these high and sacred aspirations ; but con- 
scious of his dignity — his freedom under the divine 
rule, he will never submit, unresistingly, to a yoke 
of bondage. Indeed, those who in theory deny 
the freedom of the will, do nevertheless, in prac- 
tice, contradict their own theory. They are ever 
ready to condemn the guilty, and heap censures 
upon those who violate the rules of honesty and 
propriety. This proves that the voice of spon- 
taneous consciousness cannot be suppressed, or 
overruled by any metaphysical reasoning. 

Sixthly. — We have only room to add further, 
that the doctrine of moral agency is clearly es- 
tablished by revelation. As there is a corres- 
pondence between the nature of government and 
the constitution of the subject, so that the image 
of one is reflected by that of the other, we find 
also that the general scope, as well as particu- 
lar teachings of the Bible, are properly under- 
stood, and appear consistent, only, when applied to 
moral agents. Men being free, we should expect 
them to be addressed in that character, in any 



142 MORAL AGENCY. 

communications God might condescend to makq 
to them ; and the Bible addressing men as free 
. and responsible, is, a 'priori, a proof of moral 
agency. 

In this light we must understand the motives 
of revelation; these are intended to awaken at- 
tention, excite the mind, and induce right action. 
A machine may be induced to act, but not to 
choose between two or more possible directions. 
The motives of the Bible are inducements to 
choose the right, and reject the wrong. They 
are addressed to the human mind, and presented 
in every variety of form, in the encouragements 
attendant upon a course of fidelity to truth and 
righteousness, and the darkness and gloom in- 
separable from guilt and sin — in the terrible 
threatenings, and "exceeding great and precious 
promises" with which the word of God abounds. 
In this light also must we understand the com- 
mands of the Bible. A command always sup- 
poses the thing commanded may, or may not be 
done, and that the power of choice is lodged in 
the subject. It were absurd to view the subject 
in any other light. When necessity presides 
over the actions of men, and to do, or not to do, 
depends not on the power or will of the creature, 



PUEE GOLD, 143 

to command, or prohibit, is alike useless and tri- 
fling. And yet God does command us. How 
often has he said to the children of men, " Do not 
this abominable thing which I hate," and yet they 
did it. But if men may do what God hates, then 
he has not decreed their conduct; and if God has 
not decreed their conduct, they act freely ; and 
acting freely, are moral agents. Thus are we 
again conducted to the same conclusion, at which 
we have arrived several times already, by other 
and different processes — the freedom of the will, 
the moral agency of man. This noble gift, this 
godlike endowment makes us, in a high and fear- 
ful sense, the arbiters of our own destiny — a fact 
that should be well and solemnly considered. 

" Tlimk not too meanly of thy low estate ; 
Thou hast a choice ; to choose is to create ! 
Remember whose the sacred lips that tell, 
Angels approve thee when thy choice is well : 
Use well the freedom which thy master gave." 

Though the subject is by no means exhausted, 
yet the arguments already adduced are sufficient 
to settle the question under discussion, with all 
unprejudiced, reflecting minds. We have pre- 
sented above, the proper and full idea of moral 
agency, connected with the consequences which 



144 MORAL AGENCY. 

legitimately flow from a right or wrong use of it. 
Most men incorporate with their views of reli- 
gion, the general idea of moral agency ; and yet 
they sometimes find, in the conclusions to which 
it conducts them, or their committal to peculiar 
notions in philosophy or theology, motives for 
wishing to abate somewhat from human freedom, 
or so restrict and coerce the will, that it may har- 
monize with what they believe to be true in other 
respects. In this way what is sometimes distin- 
guished as the " motive theory" was introduced, 
and still, to some extent, maintains an influence 
in the religious world. This theory deprives the 
will of a self-determining power, by making it 
necessarily assume a direction in harmony with 
existing circumstances and influences : that is, 
by making the will as the strongest motive, or as 
" the greatest apparent good." It is not our in- 
tention to discuss this theory any further than to 
state a few consequences inseparable from it, and 
by which it is proved to be erroneous. 

If the will have not an independent, self-deter- 
mining power, then the power that directs and 
controls it resides in something external to the 
will. But if the will be necessarily determined 
by that which is out of it, or external to it, there 



PURE GOLD. 145 

can then be no such thing as a perverse will^ a 
rebellious will, or an unresigned will. It moves 
as uniformly, and necessarily, as matter obeys the 
laws of the physical universe. The power which 
moves the will, being external to it, must be the 
direct influence of God, or it must arise from the 
connections and circumstances which God has 
created and arranged. If the former, there is 
properly only one will in the universe — the 
will of God. If the latter, then, as no circum- 
stances are created or arranged by human voli- 
tion — as God is the author of that constitution of 
things, which, being connected with man, exerts 
upon him an absolute control — it still follows that 
the responsibility of all volitions rests with the 
Deity — that he absolutely controls and directs all 
acts of human will, and all acts which follow the 
will, though it be done by secondary causes, or 
through the mediate agency of external, though 
divinely appointed arrangements. As relates to 
men, liberty is only a name, responsibility a 
chimera, and retribution a combination of injus- 
tice and absurdity. As every man wills just as 
he must, and the power, direct or indirect, which 
imposes this necessity is of God, all things are as 
God wills ; and what God wills absolutely, must 
13 



146 MORAL AGENCY. 

be right. Whatever metaphysicians or theolo- 
gians may say to the contrary, 

•' One truth is clear, whatever is, is right." 

All things are bound in the chains of fate. 
This chain binds the past to the present, the 
present to the future, and the future to eternity. 
" That wisdom which has ordained the existence 
of this chain, has doubtless willed that of every 
link of which it is composed. A Gahgula is one 
of these links ; and this link is of iron. A Mar- 
cus Aurelius is another link ; and this link is of 
gold. Both are necessary parts of one whole 
which could not but exist. Shall God then be 
angry at the sight of the iron link ? What ab- 
surdity ! God esteems this link at its proper 
value. He sees it in its cause, and approves this 
cause, for it is good. God beholds moral mon- 
sters as he beholds physical monsters. Happy is 
the link of gold ! Still more happy if he know 
that he is only fortunate. He has attained the 
highest degree of moral perfection, and is never- 
theless without pride, knowing that what he is, 
is the necessary result of the place he must occu- 
py in the chain. The gospel is the allegorical 



PUEE GOLD. 147 

exposition of this system : the simile of the potter 
is its summary."* 

" He might have added," (says Tappan,) "Hap- 
py is the Knk of iron, if he know that he is not 
guilty, but at worst only unfortunate : and really 
not unfortunate, because holding a necessary 
place in the chain, which, both as a whole and in 
its parts, is the result of infinite wisdom." These 
blasphemous sequents cannot be avoided, if the 
starting point be correct ; and though the " mo- 
tive theory" may be shown to be unsound in va- 
rious ways, considered philosophically and theo- 
logically, yet we rest here — it is sufficiently dis- 
proved by the consequences above stated. 

Another view of moral agency, adopted for a 
special purpose, admits the general fact of human 
freedom, but proceeds at once to reason incon- 
sistently with such admission. It allows men to 
act freely within a limited sphere of being : it 
may be confined to this life, or it may embrace a 
portion of the next Ufe ; but it is limited, and the 
results of such freedom, whether happy or other- 
wise, are confined to the same sphere of existence. 
Passing beyond this circle in which they have 
moved as free, men not only cease to be moral 

* Bonnet. 



14:8 MORAL AGENCY. 

agents, but also escape the influence of their deeds 
while free, and become necessarily determined to 
a particular destiny. This theory, which is iden- 
tified with several popular errors of the day, is 
open to a great variety of objections, logical and 
theological, but we have only room now to state 
the following : — 

First. — It contradicts the doctrine of proba- 
tion ; not merely probation in this life for a better 
condition in another, but probation of every kind 
and degree. The idea of probation, (which will 
be more largely considered in a future chapter,) 
is embodied in most of the arrangements of hu- 
man society. Practically it requires certain con- 
ditions to be complied with, certain tests to be 
endured or proofs given of qualifications for an 
advanced future state. These tests, or proofs, 
are required and given with direct reference to 
their influence upon future existence. This is 
the fundamental principle of probation, and the 
only principle that need be considered. As the 
theory to which we here refer contemplates a time 
when the actions of men performed within the 
sphere of moral agency, will not exert an influ- 
ence upon them : it is clearly inconsistent with 
the doctrine and fact of probation. This is true, 



PURE GOLD. 149 

not only in the highest and strongest view of pro- 
bation, but also in that which is most limited and 
insignificant. If the results of actions, performed 
within a large, though Hmited sphere of human 
agency, do not pass beyond the circle of that 
agency, and have no power to determine or mod- 
ify the character of human destiny, to be con- 
sistent, we must apply the same principle to the 
more limited spheres of human agency, and even 
to each individual action. The unavoidable 
logical conclusion to which such a premise leads, 
is, that our moral state and happiness, is, at no 
point in our existence, conditioned upon anything 
preceding, and the moral influence of every indi- 
vidual act is limited to the moment of time in 
which it is performed. 

Secondly. — As another objection we state, that 
the theory in question requires a change in the 
governmental arrangements of God, to suit the 
new circumstances that will arise when men shall 
have passed beyond the sphere of their moral 
agency. At a given point men cease to be moral 
agents, and if the harmony of their relations be 
preserved, the government must be adjusted to this 
new condition of the subject, or there must ever 

remain a discrepancy between the nature of the 

13^^ 



150 MORAL AGENCY. 

government and the powers of the governed. 
God must have one form of government for men 
as morally free, and another suited to their condi- 
'tion of mechanical and irresponsible action ; or, 
as a third alternative, men are no longer subjects 
of government, and become an anomaly in the 
chain of intelligent existence. 

Thirdly. — It deprives men of final moral des- 
tiny. While they are moral agents, and therefore 
accountable, they possess moral character, and to 
the same extent that character is changeless, 
moral destiny also ; but passing from the sphere 
of their moral agency, they also escape from the 
character they formed while within that sphere, 
and likewise from the destiny identified with it. 
Let it be remembered, the theory in question 
asserts that the final destiny of man is not within 
the sphere of his moral agency, nor in any man- 
ner depending upon it. But if not within, it must 
be out of, or beyond the sphere of moral agency, 
and hence independent of moral conduct, charac- 
ter, and desert. What kind of destiny that is, 
which excludes the influence of moral agency in 
the formation of character, and therefore excludes 
all moral desert, we leave for others to determine. 
Whatever else it may be, it cannot be moral des- 



PURE GOLD. 151 

tiny — it cannot be a state of moral happiness or 
unhappiness, since there is neither virtue to re- 
ward, nor vice to punish. Unless there be some 
future place and state, peculiar, anomalous, not 
yet revealed to the human mind, it is difficult to 
say how such beings will be situated. There be- 
ing in the Bible no intimation of any such future 
change in the responsible character of man, or the 
least hint of a destiny hke that which must flow 
from it, those who take the word of God for their 
guide, and wish to maintain consistency in their 
philosophy and logic, will regard this theory of 
moral agency as it is~an instance of special 
pleading to avoid results which are only feared 
by those who neither love nor obey the truth. 



CHAPTER Yin. 

TEUE RELIGION REVEALS THE MORAL STATE OF MAN, — DOCTRINE OF 

DEPRAVITY STATED. SUMMARY OF SCRIPTURE PROOF. PROOF 

FROM EXPERIENCE. — FROM HISTORY AND OBSERVATION. — SEV- 
ERAL FACTS ILLUSTRATIVE AND CONVINCING. — THE SUBJECT SUM- 
MED UP IN FIVE PROPOSITIONS. 

" Earth felt the wound, and nature from her seat, 
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe, 
That all was lost."— Milton. 

" O sin, what hast thou done to this fair earth ! 

Sin hath broke the world's sweet peace — unstrung 

Th' harmonious chords to which the angels sung."— Dana. 

Another point to which true religion must give 
a distinct recognition, is, the moral state of man. 
As God is its author, and it must therefore, in its 
essence and principles, harmonize with the divine 
character, it is equally clear, as it is its object to 
promote virtue and happiness — to instruct and 
save men, its revealed facts must agree with the 
condition of the race, and give a correct exposi- 
tion of their moral state. Religion is conversant 
with the moral character and relations of the 



PUEE GOLD. 153 

creature, more than with any other thing. It 
defines these relations, presents the standard of 
moral purity, and is designed to assist in main- 
taining the required rectitude and holiness, or if 
these have been lost, it is its object to restore the 
lost inheritance. If it be true, there can be no 
discrepancy between its teachings and the actual 
moral state of the human race. 

The question may properly arise here, What 
(the teachings of true religion being allowed to 
decide) is the natural moral state and condition 
of the human family ? In setthng this question, 
proofs may be drawn from three sources : revela- 
tion, experience, and history. Each of these yield 
testimony clear, authoritative, and decisive. The 
true answer to the above question, we suppose to 
be found in the following proposition, viz. : — 

The natural, moral condition of the world is 
thsit of defection fi^om original righteousness, and 
alienation from God. That is, the race as a 
whole has lost the righteousness and holiness 
which distinguished Adam and Eve when first 
created, and every member of the human family 
now possesses a natural tendency in opposition to 
the holiness of God. In the fact here set forth, 
the great majority of the Christian world are sub- 



154 HUMAN DEPEAVITY. 

stantially agreed. There are slight differences, 
arising partly from principle, and partly from an 
unfortunate use of terms ; yet a real agreement in 
the thing intended — " the corruption of the nature 
of every man, that naturally is engendered of the 
offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone 
from original righteousness, and of his own nature 
inclined to evil, and that continually." In giving 
a summary of Scripture proof in support of this 
doctrine, we cannot do it better than by quoting 
an able and popular divine. 

" In every religion there is a principle of truth 
or error, which, like the first link of a chain, ne- 
cessarily draws after it all the parts with which it is 
essentially connected. This leading principle in 
Christianity, distinguished from Deism, is the doc- 
trine of our corrupt and lost estate. For if man 
is not at variance with his Creator, what need of 
a Mediator between God and him ? If he is not 
a depraved, undone creature, what necessity of so 
wonderful a Restorer and Saviour as the Son of 
God ? If he is not enslaved to sin, why is he re- 
deemed by Jesus Christ ? If he is not polluted, 
why must he be washed in the blood of the im- 
maculate Lamb ? If his soul is not disordered, 
what occasion is there for such a Divine Physi- 



PUEE GOLD. 155 

cian ? If he is not helpless and miserable, why is 
he perpetually invited to secure the assistance and 
consolations of the Holy Spirit ? And, in a word, 
if he is not ' born in sin,' why is a new birth so 
absolutely necessary, that Christ declares, with the 
most solemn asseverations, without it, no man 'can 
see the kingdom of God.' 

" This doctrine then being of such importance 
that genuine Christianity stands or falls with it, it 
may be proper to state it at large. And as this 
cannot be done in stronger and plainer words than 
those of the sacred writers, I beg leave to collect 
them and present the reader with a picture of our 
natural estate drawn at full length by those an- 
cient and masterly hands. 

" Moses, who informs us that ' God created man 
in his own image, and after his likeness,' soon 
casts a shade upon hi-s original dignity, by giving 
us a sad account of his fall. He represents him 
after his disobedience, as a criminal under sen- 
tence of death; a wretch filled with guilt, shame, 
dread and horror ; and a vagabond turned out of 
a lost paradise into sl cursed wilderness, where all 
bears the stamp of desolation for his sake. In 
consequence of this apostasy he died, and all die 
in him, who was all mankind seminally and fede- 



156 HUMAN DEPEAVITY. 

rally collected in one individual. ' For by one 
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; 
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have 
sinned/ 

" The sacred historian, having informed us how 
the first man was corrupted, observes, that ' he 
begot a son in his own image,' sinful and mortal 
like himself; that his first-born was a murderer ; 
that Abel himself offered sacrifices to avert divine 
■ wrath, and that the violent temper of Cain soon 
broke out in all the human species. ' The earth,' 
says he, ' was filled with violence — all flesh had 
corrupted its way — and God saw the wickedness 
of man was great in the earth ; so great, that 
' every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was 
only evil continually.' Only evil, without any 
mixture of good ; and continually, without any 
intermission of the evil. 

"When the deluge was over, the Lord himself 
,ave the same account of his obstinately rebellious 
ireature. ' The imagination of man's heart,' said 
le to Noah, * is evil from his youth.' Job's 
friends paint us with the same colors. One of 
them observes, that 'man is born like the wild 
ass's colt;' and another, that 'he is abominable 
and filthy, and drinketh iniquity like water.' 



PUEE GOLD. 157 

'• David doth not alter the hideous portrait. ' The 
Lord/ says he, ' looked down from heaven upon 
the children of men, to see if there was any that 
did understand and seek God.' And the result 
of the divine inspection is, 'they are all gone aside ; 
they are altogether become filthy; there is none 
that doeth good, no, not one/ Solomon gives a 
finishing stroke to his father's draught, by inform- 
ing us that 'foolishness is bound up in the heart 
of a child,' and not of a child only ; for he adds, 
' the heart of the sons of men is full of evil ; and 
while they Uve, madness is in their heart/ Isaiah 
corroborates the assertions of the royal prophets 
in the following mournful confessions: 'All we 
like sheep have gone astray. We are -all as an 
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as 
filthy rags.' Jeremiah confirms the deplorable 
truth when he says, ' The sin of Judah is written 
w^ith a pen of iron, and with the point of a dia- 
mond ; it is graven on the tables of their hearts. 
O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, 
that thou mayest be saved." For 'the heart is 
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; 
who can know it ?' 

" Thus the prophets delineate mankind in a 
natural, impenitent state. And do the Apostles 
14 



158 HUMAN DEPEAVITY. 

dip their pencil in brighter colors ? Let them 
speak for themselves. The chief of them informs 
us that ' the natural,' unrenewed ' man receives 
not the things of the Spirit of God,' and that 'they 
are foolishness to him.' And he lays it down as 
a matter of fact, that ' the carnal mind,' the taste 
and disposition of every unregenerate person, is 
not only averse to goodness, but ' enmity against 
God,' the adorable fountain of all excellence. A 
blacker line can hardly be drawn to describe a 
fallen, diabolical nature. 

" Various are the names which the apostle of the 
Gentiles gives to our original corruption ; which are 
all expressive of its pernicious nature and dreadful 
effects. He calls it emphatically ' sin ;' a sin so 
full of activity and energy, that it is the life and 
spring of all others. ' Indwelling sin ;' a sin which 
is not like the leaves and fruits of a bad tree that 
appear for a time and then drop off; but like the 
sap that dwells and works within, always ready to 
break out at every bud. ' The body of sin,' be- 
cause it is an assemblage of all possible sins in em- 
bryo, as our body is an assemblage of all the mem- 
bers which constitute the human frame. ' The law 
of sin,' and the ' law in our members,' because it 
hath a constraining force, and rules in our mortal 



PURE GOLD. 159 

bodies, as a mighty tyrant in the kingdom which 
he hath usurped. ' The old man/ because we 
have it from the first man Adam, and because it 
is as old as the first stamina of our frame, with 
which it is most closely interwoven. ' The flesh' 
as being propagated by carnal generation, and 
always opposing the spirit, the gracious principle 
w^hich we have from Adam the second. And 
* concupiscence,' that mystic Jezebel, who brings 
forth the infinite variety of fleshly, worldly, and 
mental lusts which ' war against the soul.' 

"Nor are St. James and St. John less severe 
than St. Paul upon the unconverted man. The 
one observes that his wisdom, the best property 
naturally belonging to him, ' descendeth not from 
above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish ; and 
the other positively declares, that * the w^hole 
world lieth in wickedness.' Our Lord whose 
spirit inspired the prophets and apostles, confirms 
their lamentable testimony. To make us seri- 
ously consider sin, our mortal disease, he reminds 
us that ' the whole, have no need of a physician 
but they that are sick.' He declares, that * men 
love darkness rather than light ;' that ' the world 
hates' him and his disciples, and that ' its works 
are evil.' He directs all to pray for the ' pardon 



160 HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 

of sin/ as ' being evil,' and ' owing ten thousand 
talents' to their heavenly creditor. And he 
assures us that ' the things which defile the man 
come from within,' and that ' out of the heart 
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, 
murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, 
lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, fool- 
ishness' — and in a word, all moral evil. ' Some, 
indeed, confine what the Scriptures say of the 
depravity of human hearts to the abandoned 
heathens and persecuting Jews ; as if the pro- 
fessors of morahty and Christianity were not con- 
cerned in the dreadful charge. But if the apos- 
tolic writings affirm that Christ ' came not to call 
the righteous, but sinners ;'. that ' he died for the 
ungodly,' and that he ' suffered, the just for the 
unjust,' it is plain that, unless he did not suflfer 
and die for moral men and Christians, they are 
by nature sinners, ungodly, and unjust, as the 
rest of mankind. 

" If this assertion seem severe, let some of the 
best men that ever lived decide the point : not by 
the experience of immoral persons, but by their 
own. ' I abhor myself,' says Job, ' and repent in 
dust and ashes.' ' Behold I was shapen in iniquity,' 
says David, ' and in sin did my mother conceive 



PURE GOLD. 161 

me.' ' Woe is me, for I am undone/ says Isaiah, 
' because I am a man of unclean lips.' ' I know,' 
says St. Paul, ' that in me, that is, in my flesh, 
dwelleth no good thing.' ' We ourselves,' says he 
to Titus, ' were sometime foolish, disobedient, 
deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living 
in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one 
another,' And speaking of himself and the Chris- 
tians at Ephesus, he leaves upon record this mem- 
orable sentence, ' We were by nature the chil- 
dren of wrath, even as others.' Such humbling 
thoughts have the best men entertained both of 
their natural estate and of themselves. 

" But as no one is a more proper person to ap- 
peal to in this matter, than this learned apostle, 
who, by continually conversing with Jews, heathen 
and Christians in his travels, had such an oppor- 
tunity of knowing mankind, let us hear him sum 
up the suffrages of his inspired brethren. ' What 
then,' says he, ' are we better than they ?' Better 
than the immoral pagans and hypocritical Jews 
described in the two preceding chapters ? ' No, 
in no wise.' And he proves it by observing, (1) The 
universality of human corruption : ' All are un- 
der sin, as it is written, there is none righteous, 
no, not one. (2) The extent of it in individuals 
14* 



162 HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 

as it affects the whole man, especially his mind. 
* There is none that understandeth' the things of 
God. His affections, ' There is none that seeketh 
after God :' and his actions, ' They are all gone 
out of the way' of duty, * There is none that doeth 
good, no, not one ,' for ' all have their conversa- 
tion in the lusts of the flesh and of the mind.' 
(3) The outhreakings of this corruption through 
all the parts of the body : their throat, their lips, 
their mouth, their eyes, their feet, and all their 
members, are together become unprofitable, and 
instruments of unrighteousness. ' As for their 
tongue,' says St. James, * it is a world of iniquity, 
it defileth the whole body, and sets on fire the 
course of nature, and is set on fire of hell.' And 
lastly, its malignity and virulence. It is loath- 
some as ' an open sepulchre,' terrible as one who 
runs 'to shed blood,' and mortal as ' the poison of 
asps.' ' From the whole, speaking of all mankind 
in their unregenerate state, he justly infers that, 
' Destruction and misery are in their ways.' And 
lest the self-righteous should flatter themselves 
that this alarming declaration doth not regard 
them, he adds, that ' the Scripture concludes all 
under sin :' that ' there is no difference, for all 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God :' 



PURE GOLD. 163 

and that the 'moral law' denounces a general 
curse against its violators, ' that every mouth may 
be stopped, and the whole world may become 
guilty before God.' "* 

Such is a brief compend of Bible testimony rel- 
ative to the apostasy and moral corruption of 
mankind. And every declaration of holy writ 
quoted above, is confirmed as true by human expe- 
rience. Here, as in topics considered in other 
chapters of this work, we may appeal to conscious- 
ness. As consciousness is self-knowledge, or the 
knowledge the mind has of its own operations, it 
must embrace an acquaintance with the moral 
states and feelings of the mind. And the testimony 
borne by consciousness in respect to these states 
and feelings may be relied upon as correct. In- 
dividuals may, through ignorance, or a morbid 
condition of mind, mistake respecting some par- 
ticulars, but the uniform testimony of conscious- 
ness respecting any mental state or feeling, must 
be regarded as conclusive and decisive. No 
proof can go beyond this, or overthrow the facts 
it has estabUshed. Human experience embraces 
consciousness : indeed, the two terms are nearly 
synonymous. The facts of consciousness are 
* Fletcher's Appeal. 



164 HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 

those of experience. When we say experience 
confirms the reality of natural depravity, we mean 
that every man is conscious of a vicious tendency 
of mind and heart, a natural disinclination to 
.things spiritual and holy, and an inclination to 
evil. Every man feels and knows that he is " of 
his own nature inclined to evil, and that contin- 
ually." 

We admit that this inward tendency to evil 
does not show itself in the same way in every in- 
dividual. While there is but one rule of moral 
duty, there are a thousand ways in which that rule 
may be violated. If there be a natural disposition, 
no matter in what way, to contravene the right- 
eous requirements of heaven — if there be a ten- 
dency to break through the moral restraints God 
has imposed, and a consciousness that such is the 
fact, the point in discussion is made out. 

Such we affirm to be the experience of every 
man who has given any attention to the state of 
his heart — the operations of his mind. There is 
no man living who has not been more or less 
troubled with evil propensities which have arisen 
in opposition to his virtuous resolves, and tend to 
defeat his efforts to reform. We would be glad 
to see the man, if he be supposed to have an ex- 



PUEE GOLD. 165 

istence, whose conscience has never been op- 
pressed with a sense of guiU. It would be both 
gratifying and instructive to learn from his own 
lips the secret of his exalted freedom. But as such 
a specimen of humanity has never yet been found, 
it is fair to presume it never will. 

Nor does memory in any case recall the time 
when the operation of this inward " law of sin'"' 
was not felt, '"'warring" against the interests of the 
soul, and bringing the mind and moral powers into 
captivity, and subjection to moral death. This 
consciousness of inward sin is coeval with our 
first conceptions and desires. It must therefore 
spring from our moral state — from the condition 
of the heart, which by the teaching of Christ, is 
in every man, a fountain of moral corruption. 

The disposition to transgress the moral law, of 
which w^e are conscious, and from which no man 
is free, cannot be derived from any deficiency of 
reason, from error or want of knowledge. These 
may create a possibility of sinning : but a mere 
possibility of sinning, and an inclination to sin 
are very difl^erent things. And we feel this dis- 
position even where there is no error or defect of 
knowledge, yea, even in those cases, in which we 
see most clearly, that obedience to the moral law 



166 HUMAN DEPEAVITY. 

will conduce to our best advantage, and that by 
disobedience we shall render ourselves miserable. 
Nor can it be a mere fault of education. For 
then there would be, among all the multiplied and 
often opposite modes of education, some one, which 
would furnish us with men free from this disposi- 
tion. Nor is it the effect merely of the bad ex- 
amples v/hich we witness in others. This notion 
is contradicted by the varied manner in which de- 
pravity is exhibited. " One man is either little, or 
not at all inclined to those things, for which an- 
other has a great propensity. All, however, are 
inclined to perform many actions, which they 
themselves acknowledge to be sinful and inju- 
rious. Since this disposition seeks out so many 
and so different deviations, it has a different 
aspect in different individuals : but in all alike, it 
appears as a strong disinclination to certain du- 
ties, and a vehement propensity to certain actions 
which are morally bad."* 

We close the argument from experience in the 
emphatic language of St. Paul, " For I know that 
in me, (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good 
thing : for to will is present with me : but how 
to perform that which is good I find not. For 
* Knapp. 



PUBE GOLD, 167 

the good that I would I do not ; but the evil which 
I would not, that I do. Then if I do that I would 
not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwell- 
eth in me. I find then a law, that when I would 
do good, evil is present with me. For I delight 
in the law of God after the inward man ; but 1 
see another law in my members warring against 
the law of my mind, and bringing me into cap- 
tivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. 
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me 
from the body of this death ?" 

The third, and last witness we interrogate on 
the subject of natural depravity, is history ; or, 
observations upon the actual condition of man- 
kind. In this department we shall only set down 
a few decisive facts. 

First. — This depravity shows itself in infant 
minds. The seeds of vice exist in the hearts of 
children in their earliest years. With the first 
proofs of intellectual development, we see con- 
nected an exhibition of selfishness, envy, pride, 
deceit, resentment, lying, and often cruelty ; af- 
fording abundant promise of the future, and more- 
finished work of depravity. So prominent is this 
fact, so strongly does it impress the public mind 



168 HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 

that it is acknowledged to be the chief business 
of moral education, in respect to the young, to 
restrain and correct these evil tendencies, before 
they acquire a strength and virulence which bids 
defiance to all correctives. 

Secondly. — The strength of this depraved prin- 
ciple is in proof that it has its seat in the consti- 
tution itself, and is not acquired by example or 
education. The controlling power it exerts over 
the whole man is seen in the enormity of the 
crimes to which men abandon themselves, and 
the numerous legal and moral restraints and 
checks against which the tide of human corrup- 
tion rushes onward. 

In spite of the destructive influence of vice 
upon health and happiness — in opposition to the 
authority of God, whose government and law are 
in some degree revealed to all men — in disregard 
of the warnings of God's judgments upon distin- 
guished transgressors, both nations and individu- 
als — against the restraints of human laws, and 
the authority of human magistrates — and in spite 
of the reforming influences and powerful mo- 
tives of revealed religion, presented in its most 
inviting form in the life and teachings of Jesus — 
lill this tide rushes onward. When we consider 



PURE GOLD. 169 

the number and power of the influences, motives, 
and checks through which, and in spite of which, 
human depravity presses on in pursuit of vicious 
indulgence, and in perpetrating the most horrid 
crimes : the conclusion that depravity is natural — 
that the mind of the unregenerate man is " car- 
nal," is '•' enmity against God"— is the only one 
that corresponds with the facts in the case. 

Thirdly. — This depravity is universal. It is 
co-extensive with the human family. Universal 
corruption is at once both a consequence and 
proof of universal natural depravity. Were not 
the moral powers perverted — did not the heart 
contain a natural bias to sin, we should confi- 
dently expect at least a portion of the race would 
maintain an unbroken allegiance to God: nay, it 
would be a reasonable supposition that the ma- 
jority would do so, since to minds not depraved 
virtue is more amiable than vice, and would be 
the natural choice. But this is so far from being 
accordant with fact that not a single one of the- 
posterity of Adam is exempt from the charge of 
moral corruption : "they are all gone out of the 
way." There is not a spot on this green earth 
inhabited by man which has not been scathed 
and blasted by sin — over which the curse of sin 



170 HUMAN DEPEAVITY. 

has not passed like a burning sirocco. There is 
not a facuhy of the human mind, but has been 
more or less trammelled and paralyzed by the de- 
praved principle : not a holy aspiration but has 
been suppressed ; not a virtuous affection but has 
felt its withering touch. The history of our race, 
from first to last, where it has not yielded to the 
redeeming, sanctifying power of gospel truth and 
influence, proves its universal defection and cor- 
ruption — that a flood of general wickedness has 
broken in — that 

" Virtue and truth have left the faithless race, 
And fraud and wrong succeeded in their place ; 
And justice, last of the celestial train, 
Spurns the earth drenched in blood, and flies to heaven again." 

Such is the natural moral state of the world 
since the sin of Adam. To be true in itself, and 
true to man, religion must keep this condition of 
humanity distinctly in view in its relations and 
provisions. As it is the professed object of reli- 
gion to bless and save men, it will employ means 
adequate to secure the end : it will reveal to the 
mind the cause and nature of the disease, and 
provide and direct attention to the remedy. 

In concluding this chapter, it will be proper to 
give the substance of what true religion reveals 



PURE GOLD. 171 

touching the subject in question, in the following 
particulars : 

First. — The primitive state of man was distin- 
guished by moral rectitude. He was the effect 
of a holy cause. The. Creator, being infinitely 
holy, cannot be the author of unholiness. The 
holiness of his nature must exert a controlling 
influence over the productions of his creative 
power, to an extent that excludes all necessity of 
vice, and provides for the practice and cultivation 
of every virtue. As it is impossible for God to sin, 
it is equally impossible that he should create sin- 
ners, or directly or indirectly compel holy beings 
to become sinners. As man came from the plas- 
tic hand of God, he possessed no bias of mind, no 
element of character inconsistent v/ith perfect 
moral rectitude. "And God saw everything that 
he had made, and behold it was very good." 

Secondly. — The whole race is 7iow depraved 
and guilty. To this point what has been said in 
this chapter has been specially directed. And 
we think nothing is hazarded in saying the apos- 
tasy referred to is amply sustained by the testi- 
mony adduced. There is room here for one other 
remark, viz., the cause or causes which led to this 
apostasy operated subsequent to the creation, and 



172 HUMAN DEPRAVITY. 

do not in the least involve the character or inten- 
tion of Deity. 

Thirdly. — Adam's defection from Grod was 
voluntary. It must be so. An involuntary apos- 
tasy is a contradiction in terms. There can be 
no such thing as apostasy from a state of moral 
rectitude without the consent of the will. What- 
ever circumstances may concur to induce sin, 
they leave to the will the power of choice, and suc- 
cessful resistance. Any other view would anni- 
hilate human responsibility. If the present moral 
condition of mankind be the direct, or indirect 
result of an arrangement established by God, with 
the design of reaching such an issue, then, how-, 
ever degraded the world may be, it is not in a 
state of apostasy : it is just where God would 
have it : man's will has moved in harmony with 
the divine will : he has never violated his alle- 
giance to heaven, but thus far has w^orked out the 
sovereign purpose of Jehovah. 

Fourthly. — The human family is in a state of 
apostasy and depravity through Adam. Hence 
the following declarations of Holy Writ : — " By 
one man's disobedience many were made sin- 
ners :" — " By one man's offence death reigned by 
one :" — "By the offence of one judgment came 



PUEE GOLD. 173 

upon all men to condemnation :" — " By one man 
sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and 
so death passed upon all men, for that all have 
sinned" — "in Adam all die." 

" Sprung from the man whose guilty fall 
Corrupts his race and taints us all" 

To this view of the subject there is no valid ob- 
jection, either theological or philosophical. Adam 
was the federal head of the race. " God entered 
into covenant with him, not for himself alone, but 
for all his offspring. Had he stood, they semi- 
nally w^ould have stood with him. When he fell, 
they seminally fell with him. When he broke 
the covenant of works under which he was 
placed, and forfeited the blessings secured to his 
obedience, the forfeiture reached them also. 
Without this federal relation, the parallel between 
Adam and Christ, introduced by St. Paul in more 
places than one, would not exist. But he ex- 
pressly asserts that Adam " was the figure of him 
that was to come." And that the Lord Jesus 
Christ sustained a federal relation to the human 
family none will deny or call in question, who 
acknowledge him as mediator."* 

Fifthly. — The moral condition of man since 

* S. Comfort, Exposition of the Articles. 
15* 



174 HUMAN" DEPRAVITY. 

the fall is such that he cannot save himself; " he 
cannot turn and prepare himself by his own natu- 
ral strength and works, to faith, and calling upon 
God : wherefore we have no power to do good 
works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the 
grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may 
have a good-will, and working with us when we 
have that good-will." 

. No one will be damned and finally lost because 
Adam sinned : yet no one can avoid guilt through 
present sin, or escape guilt thus incurred, without 
help from God. This help has been aflorded in 
the person of Christ, and the revelation of his 
gospel. But more of this in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER IX. 

CHRISTIANITY THE OXLT TRUE RELIGION. NECESSITY- OF A ilEDIA- 

TOR. CORRECT VIEWS OF CHRIST INDISPENSABLE. THE BIBLE 

ALONE REVEALS CHRIST. THE OFFICE OF REASON IN ITS INTER- 
PRETATION. BIBLE VIE-W" OF CHRIST AS THE MEDIATOR. THE 

ONLY SAVIOUR. VICARIOUS ATONEMENT. NECESSITY FOR IT. 

CHRIST ALONE COUXD MAKE THE ATONEMENT. PROOFS OF ITS 

VICARIOUS NATURE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED, THE SUBLIMITY 

AND GLORY OF THE THEME. 

Sun ! didst tliou fly thy Maker's pain 1 or stajt 

At that enormous load of human guilt, 

Which bowed his blessed head ; o'erwhelmed his cross ; 

Made groan the centre ; burst earth's marble womb, 

With pangs, strange pangs ; dehvered of her dead 1 

Hell howled ; and heaveu that hour let fall a tear, 

Heaven wept that man might smile ! Heaven bled, that man 

Might never die I 

The qualifying word Christian, as connected 
with religion, is used to distinguish that form and 
application of the principle of religion, which was 
developed by Christ, and has obtained under his 
mediatorial reign. To our world in its fallen state, 
the Christian religion is the only true religion. 
There may be other worlds and moral beings to 
whom religion comes not, as to us, through the 



176 CHARACTER OF CHRIST. 

intervention of a mediator, nor depends for its 
vitality and efficacy upon its connection with 
an atonement. And such would have been the 
religion of this world if man had not sinned. 
Had the human race maintained its original con- 
dition, communion with God would have been 
direct, not mediate ; religion would have been the 
same in its essence and objects ; it would have 
been divine, but we should have needed no re- 
demption to effect our liberty from claims we 
could not pay — no propitiation — no atoning High 
Priest, to lead us to the mercy-seat, and conciliate 
the favor of heaven in our behalf With man un- 
fallen, God could commune without a mediator ; 
there was no moral incongruity between the na- 
ture of God, and man created in his image. Un- 
til sin had defaced the likeness of his Creator, and 
infused corruption into his heart, man held unre- 
strained fellowship with the author of his being. 
But the case is now changed. God is the same, 
but man has become a sinner. He is condemned 
by the divine law, which makes no provision for 
reconciliation and mercy. A holy God cannot 
treat with an unholy creature relative to terms of 
restoration, except through a mediatorial medium. 
All original advantages are forfeited by sin. The 



PUEE GOLD. 177 

dispensation under which the race was first placed, 
has been substituted by another brought in by the 
incarnate Son of God, who has mercifully under- 
taken to effect a reconciliation between the variant 
parties, and confer eternal salvation on the be- 
lieving and obedient. 

Such being the present moral condition and 
relation of the world in respect to God, it is evi- 
dent our religious hopes are placed on other 
grounds — our moral and religious characters must 
exist, and be matured under other influences. 
Being dependent entirely on divine goodness for 
the means of moral renovation and restoration, 
our power to repent, believe, and obey, and ren- 
der ourselves acceptable to God, are derived from 
the Mediator. Original forms and modes of ac- 
cess to God, have, with us, become obsolete — we 
are " shut up" to this " new and living way," and 
to us, the Christian system of doctrine and grace 
is the only true religion. 

Again, the point being conceded that true re- 
ligion is that which is revealed, and that under the 
dispensation of revelation, Christianity is the only 
true I'eligion, there is yet room for the farther re- 
mark that true religion, or true Christianity, must 
be based on true views of the character of Christ : 



178 CHARACTER OF CHRIST. 

that is, it must be a true exponent of the charac- 
ter of the great Redeemer. To embrace radically 
erroneous views of Christ, is to embrace a false 
Christ, and to embrace a false Christ, is to repu- 
diate the true Christ. As to reject the true God, 
is to refuse that divine religion which comes from 
him, so, to reject the true Christ, is to refuse 
Christianity and the only true religion. Individ- 
uals may, perhaps, unconsciously, or unwittingly 
err in some things respecting Christ, without 
losing the saving virtue of his mediation, but a 
theory, or system of religion, professedly founded 
on views which subvert the true character and 
relations of Christ, must necessarily be false. 

Christian revelation as distinguished from all 
other sources of divine knowledge, brings us ac- 
quainted with Christ, of whom as a saviour, we 
have no information elsewhere. He is revealed 
to us, that through him we may be introduced to 
his religion, and become the subjects of his salva- 
tion. In seeking to form a correct view of Christ 
then, it is obvious we have no other oracle to con- 
sult than the Bible : we are " shut up" to this 
source of instruction in forming our estimate of 
his character. And we are not at liberty to bring 
our prejudices to the Bible, and seek to conform 



PURE GOLD. 179 

the record to them : or to allow our philosophy to 
modify, or give form and shape to the doctrines 
of the divine word on this subject : nor should we 
start back from the conclusions to which the Bi- 
ble would conduct us, on account of any real or 
supposed mystery involved, or the incapacity of 
human reason to grasp the magnitude, or compre- 
hend the divinity of the theme. If reason be un- 
able to disclose a divine Saviour without revela- 
tion, it is equally incompetent to determine before- 
hand, what kind of a Saviour the Bible should 
make known to us. The only inquiry proper for 
us, is, what do the Scriptures teach ? and the only 
business which reason has with the subject, relates 
to the interpretation and correct exposition of the 
revelation given. In all other respects, reason is 
to sit like Mary, a learner at the Master's feet. 

The most important features in the character 
of Christ, as taught by revelation, and on which, 
under the Christian dispensation true religion is 
founded, are as follows : — 

First. — The divinity of his essence, and the 
eternity of his relation to the Godhead. " In him 
dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." " In 
the beginning was the Word, the Word was with 
God; and the Word was God." " All things that 



180 CHARACTER OF CHRIST. 

the Father hath are mine." " I and my Father 
are one." " All men should honor the Son, even 
as they honor the Father." 

Secondly. — His proper humanity, by which he 
holds an intimate, though sinless connection, with 
that sinful race whom he came to redeem and 
save, and has become a High Priest, who can be 
" touched with the feeling of our infirmities." To 
present these two points in one strong view, 
Christ is revealed to us as the incarnate Son of 
God: "Forasmuch then, as the children (those he 
came to redeem and save) are partakers of flesh 
and blood, he also himself likewise took part of 
the same : that through death he might destroy 
him that had the power of death, that is, the 
devil." Thus to accomplish a specific, and in its 
relation to us, a necessary object, he became our 
Mediator, combining in his person the highest 
form of divinity, and the most perfect specimen 
of humanity — "being in the form of God, he 
thought it not robbery to be equal with God : but 
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him 
the form of a servant, and was made in the like- 
ness of man ; and being found in fashion as a man 
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross." By the mys- 



PUEE GOLD. 181 

tery and condescension of his incarnation, God 
with God, became man with man. Such is the 
view which the Bible gives of Christ in his rela- 
tion to true religion, and out of which arises the 
saving efficacy and power of his gospel. This ex- 
position of the complex character of the Mediator 
is essential to the existence of the Christian sys- 
tem, and indispensable to true religious expe- 
rience. 

We are now prepared to advance another step. 
True religion recognizes, and receives Christ as 
the only Saviour of lost sinners, and his atone- 
ment as the only, and meritorious ground of par- 
don and salvation. 

The redeeming work of Christ for an enthi'alled 
world, as also the effect of it upon penitent be- 
lievers, is thus described by the Apostle Paul. 
" Being justified freely by his grace, through the 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus ; whom God 
hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith 
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the 
remission of sins that are passed through the for- 
bearance of God ; to declare I say at this time 
his righteousness ; that he might be just and the 
justifier of him that believeth in Jesus."* 

^ Rom. iil 24-26. 
16 



182 ATONEMEMT. 

This paragraph sets forth three important 
facts. 

First. — The justification and salvation of the 
sinner are of grace. " Being justified freely by 
his grace." 

Secondly. — This gracious interposition is Jiar- 
monious with justice. " That he might be just 
and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." 
Pardon through the redemption of Christ is no 
infraction of the justice of God : It requires no 
abatement of the claims of law. The exercise of 
mercy is justified, " through the redemption that 
is in Christ Jesus whom God hath set forth to be 
a propitiation through faith in his blood." 

Thirdly. — The blessings purchased tlirough 
redemption are appropriated by faith — " through 
faith in his blood" — " him that believeth in Jesus." 
Mercy finds the channel of divine favor open to 
the lost sinner through the redeeming blood of 
Christ. Justice points to the propitiatory sacri- 
fice and blood of the Redeemer as of sufficient 
moral value to satisfy its demands, while the 
sword is sheathed, and a dispensation of mercy 
is granted to a guilty world. " Mercy and truth 
are met together ; righteousness and peace have 
kissed each other." O wonderful plan ! " O the 



PUEE GOLD. 183 

depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowl- 
edge of God i" 

" Here the whole Deity is known, 
Nov dares a creature guess 
"Which of the glories brightest shone, 
The justice or the grace." 

The vicarious atonement of Christ, being the 
great central truth of Christianity, and the pro- 
curing, or meritorious cause of all saving gospel 
influence, may properly claim a more extended 
notice. 

For a knowledge of the plan of salvation 
through Christ, we are wholly indebted to divine 
revelation. There is nothing in the actualities, 
or possibilities of human wisdom that could have 
provided to meet the exigencies of the case, much 
less anticipate the measures God would adopt 
for demonstrating his righteousness in extending 
pardon to the guilty. 

The necessity for an atonement is found in the 
fact that the human race have voluntarily trans- 
gressed God's holy law and incurred its righteous 
penalty. Goodness may be inclined to show 
mercy, but holiness must maintain an opposition 
to sin by an active display of justice. Holiness 
as an attribute of God is not inferior to goodness ; 



184 ATONEMENT. 

hence justice is not subordinate to mercy. The 
condition of the race is hopeless, unless deliver- 
ance can be effected upon some principle that will 
harmonize goodness and holiness, justice and 
mercy. Men in their fallen state cannot save 
themselves, because in a state of moral death ; and 
death cannot produce life. And should we allow 
the natural availableness of repentance, it would 
not relieve them ; since both the disposition and 
power to repent are wanting. Nor can the law 
save them. By the law is the knowledge of sin — 
not the knowledge of salvation. Disconnected 
with atonement it knows nothing of mercy. It 
makes an exhibition of its claims that annihilates 
hope in the breast of the guilty, and leaves him 
nothing to expect but the full execution of its 
threatened penalty. Says Paul, " I was alive 
without the law once, but when the command- 
ment came sin revived, and I died." Hence " by 
the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified" — 
a declaration implying the impossibility of salva- 
tion to men in a fallen state, either by personal 
obedience to the law, or by suffering in their own 
persons the full extent of its penalty. 

It follows, therefore, that there is no hope for a 
condemned world, without a divine interposition 



PUEE GOLD, 185 

which shall provide for extending pardon to the 
guilty and helpless. But how shall this be done ? 
This is the great problem of Christianity, and as 
appears to us, it must be solved by one of the 
two following methods : — 

First. — Pardon must be extended to sinners on 
mere clemency, or, 

Secondly. — A satisfaction must be offered of 
such nature and value as will honor the law, and 
secure the ends of good government, while the 
sinner is released, and allowed, and even assisted? 
if he wills it, to return to his allegiance to God. 

To the salvation of offenders on mere clemency 
there are inseparable obstacles, founded in the 
essential and rectoral \\\s\ac,q of the Deity. 

By his essential justice, we mean that mani- 
festation of his righteous displeasure against sin, 
as such, which has its foundation in the holiness 
of the divine character. God is of " purer eyes 
than to behold iniquity." It is an eternal and 
necessary opposition to sin arising out of the 
nature of holiness, and has its outward revelations 
in the personal enactments of the divine law. Its 
retributive voice can no more be hushed in the 
presence of sin, than holiness can be abstracted 
from the divine nature. Hence, should God 
16-^ 



186 ATONEMENT. 

extend pardon on a principle that disregards the 
claims of his essential justice, he would contra- 
vene his own nature, — resist and suppress the 
tendencies of his holiness. 

Rector al justice, is that which awards to moral 
beings according to their deeds under a specified 
form of government. It has its foundation in the 
contrariety between sin and the best good of the 
moral world ; and its maintenance is necessary 
to secure the ends of a holy and benevolent ad- 
ministration. It is the moral universe in arms 
against sin, because sin tends to defeat the happi- 
ness of the universe. To extend pardon to the 
guilty regardless of the claims of rectoral justice, 
would give impunity to sin, and resist and defeat 
the ends of good government. 

To any scheme, therefore, that would pardon of- 
fenders without satisfjiction, the essential holiness 
and justice of God must ever stand opposed. These 
constitute i\\Q ground of necessity for atonement, 
and present, as the only alternative, tlie second 
method stated above, viz., '• a satisfaction must be 
offered of such nature and value as will honor the 
law, and secure the ends of the divine administra- 
tion, while the sinner is released, and allowed, and 



PUEE GOLD. 187 

even assisted, if he wills it, to return to his alle- 
giance to God." 

To this conclusion the convictions of the hu- 
man mind and conscience conduct us. For cen- 
turies before the personal appearance of Christ, 
there was a felt necessity for some more perfect 
and assuring method of approach to God. To 
the Jew this deficiency was in part relieved ; yet 
it was but in part : for the promulgations of Sinai 
did but impress the mind that man cannot be just 
with God. The condition of the heathen was 
still worse ; they felt that they were binder a di- 
vine curse : and after their best endeavors at pro- 
pitiation there was an awful apprehension that 
the favor of God was not secured. Oppressed 
conscience and the ominous voice of nature spoke 
of guilt in man, and wrath in God : their super- 
stitious rites, and self-inflicted penances were in- 
efficacious to quiet their alarmed fears. Reason 
had spent her strength, philosophy exhausted her 
resources, yet the fearful gloom was not removed. 
They might hope for favor, but there could be no 
peace without assurance. Assurance has come ; 
it is found in the Christian doctrine of atonement. 
The despairing mind is relieved by the announce- 
ment, that God has sent his Son to be the " pro- 



188 ATONEMENT. 

pitiation" for the sins of the world, and by the 
language of the great Propitiator himself — " I am 
the way, the truth, and the life." 

The death of Christ for sinners is uniformly ex- 
hibited in Scripture, not as one expedient of many 
that might have been employed, but as the only 
hope of the guilty. Not only was there a neces- 
sity for a divine interposition for the benefit of 
man, but a real necessity for the death of Christ, 
— a necessity arising out of the moral condition 
and relation of man. And Christ was not only 
the fittest, but the only instrument by which this 
work could have been effected. How else can 
we understand the following passage : — " O my 
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from 
me." Clark, Benson, Scott, Burkitt, Fletcher, 
Holden, and a host of others, understand our Lord 
to pray that the cup of suffering now presented 
to his lips might pass from him, if consistent with 
the divine purpose to redeem the world ; and the 
fact that it did not pass from him, but he drank it 
in all its bitterness, is in proof that there was no 
other way of opening to the world the door of 
salvation. How else can we understand the words- 
of Christ after his resurrection : " Thus it is writ- 
ten, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to 



PURE GOLDo 189 

rise again the third day." The Greek verb " edsi," 
translated behooved, is from Seco, to bind, chain, or 
fetter together. It conveys the idea of necessity ; 
that is, that the death of Christ was so necessary 
to redemption, that the latter event was bound, 
or chained to the former ; and the former must 
take place, or the latter can never be effected. 
The same word in connection with nadeiv, " to 
suffer,'^ is used by the Saviour in the twenty-sixth 
verse of the same chapter ; indicating a neces- 
sary connection between his work as Redeemer, 
and the salvation of lost men : or, as the Vulgate 
has it, sic oportehat Christum pati — literally, 
" it was needful that Christ should suffer." 

And such is the uniform tenor of Scripture. 
"When we were yet without strength, in due 
time, Christ died for the ungodly." " Neither is 
there salvation in any other." " No man cometh 
unto the Father, but by me." " He looked, and 
there was none to help him, and of the people 
there was none with him ; therefore his own 
arm brought salvation, and his righteousness, it 
sustained him." There is not the least intimation 
in the word of God, that any other method than 
that adopted would have availed to open the 
channels of mercy, and avert the impendent 



190 ATOXEMEXT. 

doom of a condemned world. Christ is the only 
Saviour. Any other view is fundamentally er- 
roneous. His condemnation is our justification : 
his death is our life : had he not died, we must 
have borne the heavy load forever. 

We close what we have to say on the subject 
of atonement, by presenting a few considerations 
showing it to be vicarious; that is, that Christ 
is" the sinner's substitute in satisfying for trans- 
gression. 

First. — On no other hypothesis can the suffer- 
ings of Christ be explained. Christ did not suffer 
and die on his own account. He had violated 
no law, and was obnoxious to no penalty. Being 
"undefiled," "without spot," one who "did al- 
ways those things which pleased God," it is 
plain, however we may explain his passion, we 
must not regard his sufferings as endured in his 
own behalf Nor had he, being innocent, such 
connection with a guilty race as necessarily in- 
volved him in their calamities and sufferings. 
He had experienced no derangement of any de- 
partment of his constitution. True, he possessed 
the nature of man, but not by natural generation; 
hence not man's fallen nature. The human na- 
ture of Christ was not involved in the penal con- 



PURE GOLD. 191 

sequences of the fall : it was created and assumed 
by Christ for a specific purpose- — " that through 
death he might destroy him that had the power 
of death ; that is, the devil." The celestial mes- 
senger announced to Mary, " The Holy Ghost 
shall come upon thee, and the powder of the High- 
est shall overshadow thee : therefore, that holy 
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called 
the Son of God." 

Nor is suffering a necessary accompaniment 
of a work of benevolence, as performed by 
holy beings, excluding expiation for offences. 
But if Christ did not suffer for himself, nor as a 
consequence of being connected with a fallen 
race, nor yet because of a necessary union be- 
tween a work of benevolence and suffering, only 
one conceivable alternative remains, viz., his suf- 
ferings were in behalf of sinners — vicarious. By 
this we mean all that is implied in saying he suf- 
fered in our room and stead, on account of our 
sins, and with a view of dehvering us by his suf- 
ferings from the punishment due us as guilty sin- 
ners. The sufferings of Jesus must be admitted 
by^those who deny his atonement ; rejecting tfieir 
vicarious character, they are bound to give some 



192 • atoxe:u:ext. 

other consistent explanation. This, however, 
vvill not be easily done. 

Secondly. — We argue for a vicarious atone- 
ment from those passages which declare Christ 
died for us : — " He died, the just for the unjust." 
" He suffered for us," — " he died for all," — " he 
tasted death for every man," — '•' he died for the 
ungodly," — " he gave himself a ransom for all." 

St. Paul illustrates the meaning of the preposi- 
tion «»'Tt, and by consequence the sense in which 
Christ died for sinners, when he says, " Scarcely 
for a righteous man will one die, yet, perad ven- 
ture, for a good man some would even dare to 
die." Here, " to die for a good man," says Dod- 
dridge, " is to lay down one life in order to save 
another." But God's love was commended to- 
ward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ 
died for us : that is, he laid down his life, in order 
to save the lives of sinners. This is singularly 
plain from Gal. iii. 13 : " Christ hath redeemed us 
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for 
us." Kaiaqa everywhere denotes punishment 
proceeding from the sanction of law — the "curse" 
rested upon the world by the sanction of law. 
Christ endured this curse /or us, in our room and 
stead. 



PURE GOLD. 193 

" When this phraseology is used in the New 
Testament in reference to Christ, it never means 
that he died to teach men, &c. — but always, in- 
stead, in the place of men, to deliver them. The 
meaning is this : since Christ suffered for our sins, 
we ourselves are freed from the necessity of en- 
during the punishment which they deserved."* 

Thirdly. — The Scriptures declare most plainly 
and positively, that the sufferings and death of 
Christ do operate a removal of the consequences 
of sin from the sinner. " The Lord hath laid on 
him the iniquity of us all" — " he shall bear their 
iniquities." "Who himself bare our sins in his 
own body on the tree." "Christ was once offer- 
ed to bear the sins of many." " It pleased the Lord 
to bruise him." "He hath put him to grief" 
" But he was wounded for our transgressions, he 
was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement 
of our peace was upon him : and with his stripes 
we are healed." 

How well all this agrees with the declaration 
of the Apostle (Rom. viii. 32,) " God spared not 
his own Son, but delivered him up for us all," it 
needs no argument to show. There is no way 
that we can conceive of, in which Christ can hear 

* Knapp's Theology. 
17 



194 ATONEMENT. 

the sins of fallen creatures, "in his own body," 
except by the penal, substitutionary character of 
his sufferings and death. " To bear the sins, 
means to bear the punishment, that is, to suffer 
the punishment due to sins."* 

Fourthly. — That the sufferings and death of 
Christ were penal and propitiatory, is conclusive 
from those passages which represent Christ as our 
propitiation, and his death as propitiatory. 

" To propitiate is to appease, to atone, to turn 
away the wrath of an offended person. In the 
case before us, the wrath turned away is the 
wa'ath of God : the person making the propitiation 
is Christ ; the propitiating offering or sacrifice is 
his blood." t 

With this definition before us, the application 
of the following passages, is very plain and easy : — 
" Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation 
through faith in his blood." — Rom. iii. 25. " And 
he is the propitiation for our sins." — 1 John ii. 11. 
" God loved us, and sent his Son to be the propi- 
tiation for our sins." — 1 John iv. 10. 

The Greek words daajiwg and ilaajTjqiov are 
both derived from daaxM, which is often used by- 
Greek writers to express the action of a person 
* Stewart. j "Watson. 



PUEE GOLD. 195 

appointed to turn away the wrath of a Deity. 
God the righteous lawgiver and judge is justly 
displeased with man, on account of sin : yet not so 
displeased as to be implacable. This displeasure 
moves in harmony with the benevolence of his 
character and government ; hence it opposes an 
insuperable barrier to the world's release from con- 
demnation and punishment, except upon terms 
that will vindicate his authority, honor the law, 
and secure the ends of a righteous administration. 
So far from being implacable — actuated by a feel- 
ing of revenge — the scheme of redemption has its 
foundation in his benevolence ; he gives his own 
Son, to execute the only plan that could effect the 
world's deliverance, in keeping with his attributes 
and the principles of eternal justice. Christ be- 
comes X\\Q propitiator, and gives himself a joropi- 
tiation, atonement, expiation — words which, used 
as they are in the Scriptures, in connection with 
the Saviour's work for sinners, must, we think, 
convey to every unsophisticated mind the idea of 
satisfaction rendered for the sins of men, by the 
personal sufferings of Jesus Christ. He who 
knew no sin " was made sin for us" (a sin offer- 
ing) '•' that we might be made the righteousness 
of God in him." 



196 ATONEMENT. 

A brief notice of a popular objection or two 
will form the conclusion of this chapter. 

It is often said by way of objection, that " it 
would be unjust to require the innocent to suffer 
for the guilty." It is a sufficient answer to this, 
to say, that it is founded on a false view of the 
subject. The sufferings of Christ were voluntary. 
He acted under no constraint whatever, except 
the constraint of love. He so loved the world 
that "he gave himself a ransom for the world to 
be testified in due season." There is no law, hu- 
man or divine, that can justly require the inno- 
cent to take the place of the guilty ; yet when an 
individual, actuated by pure goodness, throws him- 
self in the gap, and as far as possible relieves the 
guilty and suffering of the consequences of their 
evil deeds, even at great personal sacrifices ; not 
only is there no law against it, but such a course 
will be applauded by the good, and the name of 
such an one will be heralded to succeeding gener- 
ations as a benefactor of his race. Such, though 
in a higher sense, was the work of Christ. He 
voluntarily interposed his sufferings and death to 
relieve the world from ruin. 

Another objection to a vicarious atonement is, 



PUEE GOLD. 197 

that "it involves the doctrine of imputed guilt to 
the innocent character of Christ." 

This is a non sequiter ; it only involves a trans- 
fer of the legal consequences of guilt. And to 
suppose this impossible is to war with fact. A 
certain form of this transfer, (though not for the 
same end,) exists in the case of the infant world : 
who, being themselves innocent of any participa- 
tion in crime, do, nevertheless, experience in part, 
the consequences of another's guilt. 

It is a fact that persons may, and that some 
have, voluntarily assumed the consequences of the 
sins of others. This, to some extent, is done by 
every philanthropist, who in the benevolence of 
his heart, foregoes ease, and endures labor and 
suffering, and expends his temporal substance, to 
save the profligate from the effects of their evil 
deeds. This was done by the Locrian king, 
who by the voluntary loss of one of his own eyes, 
saved his son from the full infliction of the terri- 
ble penalty he had incurred : an act which has 
received universal commendation, and has been 
employed by many divines, as a singularly apt 
illustration of the subject of atonement. " If King 
Codrus loved his subjects so far as to disguise and 

offer himself to death, in order to procure them 

17* 



198 ATONEMEN'T. 

certain temporal advantages ; if the Deciuses 
and Curtiuses felt so strong an interest in the 
welfare of their country, as to sacrifice their lives 
in order to save their fellow-citizens from a tran- 
sient calamity; if a Swiss so generously devo- 
ted himself to death, by running to Sampach 
covered with the lances of conflicting hosts, to 
clear the way for his victorious companions ; if 
mothers have sacrificed their own lives to pre- 
serve those of their children, is it not absurd to 
say that infinite bounty never could, and never 
would, perform an act of compassion equally glo- 
rious and efficacious, to deliver millions of souls 
from more dreadful miseries, and to procure to 
them the blessings of an infinite duration, and of 
an inestimable value."* 

We know that these are rare examples, and that 
none of them come up fully to the Bible view of 
the atonement, in connection with which there is 
a mystery, sublimity, and glory, found nowhere 
else : yet they all involve more or less the princi- 
ple on which the mediation of Christ proceeds: 
and the fewness and imperfection of the examples 
should not be employed to invalidate the princi- 
ple. But were it true that the experience and 
* Fletcher. 



PURE GOLD. • 199 

observation of men furnish no examples analogous 
to the proceeding against which this objection is 
urged, it would not follow that the subject involves 
the least incongruity or intrinsic difficulty. It is 
not safe to infer from the regulations men have 
established in this world, what would, or would 
not be proper, in a divine plan for the redemp- 
tion of sinners. We may reason from the analogy 
of the divine government in this world, and here 
the argument is in our favor : but we must not 
regulate the divine proceedings by the analogy of 
human governments. It is the business of courts 
of justice to administer law, as it is established by 
the supreme power of the state ; hence they have 
no right to require or accept a substitute in crim- 
inal cases. The subordinate judicatories of the 
Locrian kingdom had no right to adopt the ex- 
pedient resorted to by the king — there was noth- 
ing in the laws delivered to them that would au- 
thorize it. But the king, being the source of all 
law and authority to his subjects, might adopt any 
expedient within his power, that would honor the 
law, support justice, and at the same time save his 
erring and criminal son. 

If, therefore, vv^e had no revelation on the sub- 
ject, and if the government of God, in relation to 



200 ATONEMENT. 

this world, furnished us with nothing illustrative 
of the principle, still it would be an assumption 
which no one has a right to make — to say that 
God may not allow a substitute to receive the 
legal consequences of sin in his own person, and 
thus let in light and hope upon a doomed world. 

Such is the Bible view of Christ and his atone- 
ment for sinners : and on this foundation true re- 
ligion must ever rest. Slight variations, which 
do not contravene and destroy the feature of sub- 
stitution and satisfaction, may be tolerated ; but 
true religion can have no fellowship with notions 
which rob Christ of the infinitude of his original 
nature, or destroy his mediatorial character by 
the denial of his proper humanity, or propose any 
other scheme of satisfaction, any other ground of 
justification than that found in his mediatorial 
work — his redemptive blood. "God forbid that 
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Je- 
sus Christ." 

The exhibition we have here of Christ, and his 
work for sinners, is grand, sublime, and soul- 
thrilling. The field open for contemplation is 
boundless. What a variety of considerations to 
excite our gratitude and quicken our devotions ! 
What an astonishing display of divine compas- 



PURE GOLD. 201 

sion! What an infinite ocean of benevolence is 
open to our view in the bosom of the Deity ! — 
When we associate all the lofty and mysterious 
characteristics of this great subject, the mind is 
overwhelmed with its moral grandeur. There is 
no language, no imagery, no eloquence, sufficient 
in expression and power, to reach its high divinity, 
and fully unfold its exhaustless glories. " God 
manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen 
of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on 
in the world, and received up into glory." Let us 
love the Redeemer, as he has loved us. Let us 
embrace the religion which he brings us, through 
his infinite sacrifice and atonement : and then, 
when all other comforts fail, this will be our so- 
lace — "like a kind angel whisper peace, and 
smooth the bed of death." 



CHAPTER X. 

SALVATION CONDITIONAL. NATURE OF A CONDITION. CONTINGENCY 

IMPLIED IN IT. FARTHER PROVED BY CONSTITUTION OF MAN. 

ANALOGY OF NATURE. DOCTRINE OF PROBATION. REVELATION. 

NATURE OF SALVATION. BIBLE TESTIMONY. SOLEMN ADMONI- 
TION. 

" If then that double death should prove thy lot, 
Blame not the bowels of the Deity ; 
Man shall be blessed as far as man permits. 
Not man alone — all rationals, Heaven arms 
With an illustrious, but tremendous power. 
That power denied, men, angels, were no more 
But passive engines, void of praise or blame. 

And he that would be barred capacity 

Of pain, courts incapacity of bliss.'''' — Young. 

In the catalogue of doctrines which distinguish 
true rehgion from that which is false, we must not 
omit the conditionality of salvation. That men 
need salvation, and that Christ came into this 
world to save them, are points not often called in 
question. There are, however, some other things 
connected with salvation, which, through earl}^ pre- 
judice, or hostility to truth, are not always admitted 
with the same cordiality and confidence. Among 



PUEE GOLD. 203 

these may be included the doctrine which is to 
form the subject of this chapter. If this be not 
properly fundamental to the system of religious 
truth, in a practical view its importance can 
scarcely be over-estimated. It is no less a ques- 
tion, than whether there is anything required of 
us as a pre-requisite to the future bliss we. hope to 
enjoy. Whether we may safely dismiss all care 
and anxiety relative to the issue which awaits us, 
and consider ourselves perfectly sure of salvation 
and happiness in our final destiny, independent of 
any acts or agency of our owm, or, whether our 
moral character and happiness, here and hereaf- 
ter, and even in our final state, be contingent, or 
so conditioned, as -to call for watchfulness, care, 
and diligence in securing them. In a word, 
whether there is anything at hazard, anything to 
be gained or lost in our ultimate condition by 
virtue or vice, obedience or disobedience in our 
present relations to God and his government. On 
this subject the teaching of true religion is clear 
and emphatic : it suspends our final happiness 
upon previous duties and acquisitions ; that is, it 
makes salvation conditional. 

The standard definition of a condition is as foU 
lovv§: — "a clause in a bond or other contract con- 



204 SALVATION CONDITIONAL. 

taining terms : a stipulation that it is to be per- 
formed, and in case o^ failure, the penalty of the 
bond is to be incw^red. Terms given, or provided 
as the ground of something else ; that which is es- 
tablished, or to be done, or to happen, as requisite 
to another act." From this it is plain, that con- 
tingency is implied in the nature of a condition, 
and that the result thus conditioned in a bond or 
contract of any nature, depends on the decision 
and action of those on whom the condition is im- 
posed. 

The application of this principle to the subject 
of human salvation is perfectly easy and natural. 
The gospel comes to us in the form of a covenant. 
Its provisions are connected with specified terms. 
There are two parties to the covenant, and a 
Mediator, whose business it is to see that it is ex- 
ecuted with fidelity : that a proper regard be had 
to the rights of each of the contracting parties. 
In this covenant God provides salvation for man, 
and pledges himself to confer it on terms that are 
stated. These terms form the condition on which 
men are to be saved ; and while they may claim, 
nay, have a right to claim that Jehovah, the high 
contracting party, should redeem his pledge, it is 
equally obvious there may be, on their part, a 



PUEE GOLD. 205 

forfeiture of the promised boon. The conditions 
being disregarded by those who are to reap the 
benefit, neither justice, mercy, nor truth, require, 
or even allow the design of the covenant to be 
perfected. Motives are presented to induce care, 
and pious, diligent attention to the duties on 
which the desired issue is made dependent, but 
moral freedom is not in the least impinged. 

" Heaven wills our happiness, allows our doom, 
Invites us ardently, but not compels." 

That such is the principle that governs, and 
will determine our claim to heaven and happiness, 
is proved by the following arguments. 

First. — The original relations and constitution 
of man. The constitution of Adam w^as that of 
a moral agent ; his relations those of a moral 
subject to the moral government of God. He 
was created upright, and placed under a law 
whose requirements were plainly revealed to him. 
By the will and power of the law-maker, he was, 
to be visited with favor, or disfavor, according to 
his integrity and obedience. His power to main- 
tain his exalted position was ample, but at the 
same time he was made aware of his liability to 
lose innocence, forfeit happiness, and incur the 
penalty of disobedience. In a word, his continu- 
18 



206 SALVATION CONDITIONAL. 

ance in the possession and enjoyment of the holi- 
ness and happiness which were his by virtue of 
his creation, was conditioned on undeviating con- 
formity to the divine law. 

This view of man's original constitution, rela- 
tions, and liabilities, cannot be disputed, or set 
aside, without first refuting all that has been ad- 
vanced in the preceding chapters on moral gov- 
ernment, moral agency, and human responsibility; 
and even then the work is not done, until the 
letter of God's word can be evaded, and the gospel, 
as to its nature and design, be explained away. 

The constitution God has given to man, must 
ever remain the same. It is a dictate, as well of 
philosophy as of revelation, that what was at the 
first, true of man in this respect, is true now, and 
will remain so during God's gracious dispensa- 
tions ; and also, what may be affirmed of the first 
man, may, in like manner, be affirmed of all his 
posterity. There may be a time, when crime 
will bring upon him such tremendous conse- 
quences as to exclude him from the blessings of 
divine government, and hold him perpetually 
under the penalty of law ; but until the mandate 
shall be issued, to arrest his career and fix his 
doom, not only does his constitution as 4 being 



PUKE GOLD. 207 

morally free, remain the same, but he is armed 
with the power of shaping and deciding his 
destiny. 

To suppose man liable to forfeit the blessings 
derived through creation, yet not under the same 
liability in regard to those derived through re- 
demption, is to suppose redemption operates a 
radical change in the powers of man, or in the 
nature of divine government, or both, either of 
which hypotheses is unphilosophical as it is un- 
scriptural. Either man never possessed power 
to forfeit divine favor, and in respect to him, 
redemption was a farce, or he still retains that 
power, though under a system of restoring mercy. 
The administration of God must harmonize in all 
its acts. The first act must correspond with the 
last, and both with every intermediate step of 
governm.ent. Divine government is designed to 
maintain, develop, and improve the intellectual 
and moral character of the subject, and redemp- 
tion has the same end in view. To secure this 
end they act in concert, and under the same con- 
trolling principle. What was conditioned under 
government before redemption, is conditioned 
still ; to suppose otherwise, is to make redemption 
the degradation of a rational being, by depriving 



208 SALYATIOX CONDITIONAL. 

him of the power of choice, and reducing him to 
the condition of a mere machine. The condition- 
ality of human salvation is rendered credible, 

Secondly. — By the analogy of nature. God's 
government is the same in its principles and 
bearings, as it extends over all its subjects, and 
all worlds. Here we see but a part of it,: — the 
incipient stages of its operations : yet what is seen 
is an index of what is unseen. The revelation 
of principles and facts in this life furnishes data 
from which we may safely infer what will be the 
practical results of his administration under its 
more advanced stages. 

Moral laws or causes produce their results as 
certainly as those that are physical, unless coun- 
teracted by supernatural power. When we see, 
under that arrangement which God has establish- 
ed in this life, certain moral causes producing 
certain moral effects, with uniformity and con- 
stancy, we are bound to infer such a relation 
between them as will always produce the same 
results. This I say we must infer, unless God 
informs us of a time when he intends to counter- 
act the established order of things and produce 
a change. 

The moral constitution of things under which 



PURE GOLD. 209 

we are placed, which confers its rewards, and 
deals out its punishments to man in this Hfe, is 
established by God himself, and in its bearings 
and issues, has the sanction of his authority. And 
it is a fact which cannot be successfully disputed, 
that under this arrangement, the happiness of man 
is contingent. This is a matter of constant ex- 
perience and observation. Every man knows 
that his moral as well as temporal prosperity and 
happiness, depends in a great degree on himself — 
that his happiness to-morrow is in an important 
sense suspended on his conduct to-day, and his 
happiness next year on his conduct this year. 
This principle governs our whole earthly being. 
To squander the morning of life in idleness and 
vice, which should be employed in cultivating the 
mind and heart, and acquiring a useful education, 
is to lay a sure foundation for misery and wretch- 
edness in manhood and old age. Education, 
respectability, wealth, and happiness, are so con- 
ditioned upon our own conduct, that without 
design, effort, and perseverance, we forfeit the 
whole. 

Moreover, it often happens under the govern- 
ment, of God in this life, that men are ruined with- 
out remedy. The consequences of their sins 
18* 



210 SALVATION CO^^DITIONAL. 

follow them to the last moments of life, resulting 
in the forfeiture of life itself, or depriving them 
of the most desirable blessings while life continues. 
So far as this life is concerned, God's laws and 
government make one thing depend on another ; 
that is, establish a necessary relation between 
conduct and character, virtue and happiness. 
And thus do the voice of nature and the analogy 
of God's government in this world, confirm the 
important truth under discussion. For, as we 
have no intimation that salvation and happiness 
in the future can be had on any other condition 
than that which governs these acquisitions in this 
life, we have the full force of the argument from 
analogy to support the contingency of future and 
final salvation. The time may come when the 
opportunity to avert calamity and secure happi- 
ness will cease — when the buried talent must be 
restored to its owner : but while happiness is 
within human reach, it is conditioned ; and a 
disregard of the terms is equivalent to a rejection 
of the proffered boon. 

" Heaven but persuades, almighty man decrees; 
Man is the maker of immortal fates. 
Man falls by man, if finally he falls; 
And fall he must who learns from death alone, 
The dreadful secret that he lives forever." 



PUEE GOLD. 211 

Thirdly. — That salvation, or that holiness and 
happiness whicli form the elements of a blissful 
destiny are conditioned, is further sustained by 
the doctrine of human probation. " Of the various 
views under which human life has been con- 
sidered," says Paley, " no one seems so reasona- 
ble as that which regards it as a state of proba- 
tion." Again: " It is our duty to consider this 
life throughout as a probationary state." 

Probation is from the Latin word "probo,'' and 
the corresponding Greek, doy.ifia;coj and signifies, 
to examine into the goodness or fitness of any- 
thing, or person — to prove : and in the passive 
form is applied to those who have been tested as 
to their qualifications for entering upon some 
place or ofiice of trust and distinction. The 
whole human family is now in a state of proba- 
tion, or trial, for a better and higher state : that 
is, they are now upon a theatre of action from 
which there is more than one possible issue ; and 
the particular nature of the issue will be deter- 
mined by the conduct of the actors. This is the 
true idea of probation, and it applies to all useful 
subjects, and every department of society. The 
morning of life is a probation for the arlvanced 
and active period of earthly being. The youth 



212 SALVATION CONDITIONAL. 

is a candidate for a place of distinction, a career 
of usefulness in subsequent life. His minority is 
a state of probation for this place and career. He 
will certainly leave his minority at the appointed 
time ; but whether he will be fitted to enter upon 
his high destination is not so certain — the event 
is contingent. Inattention to the requisite quali- 
fications operate a forfeiture. 

The student is on probation for a profession, or 
for a place and name among the literati of the 
age. To his career there is more than one pos- 
sible issue. If he is diligent and persevering in 
application to study, he may crown his brow with 
professional and literary honors. But if he mis- 
improve time and advantages, he will never reach 
the goal — never enjoy the prize. The husband 
and wife have entered upon a course of domestic 
life. To that state there is more than one possi- 
ble event. It may be attended with happiness, 
and end in peace and honor, or with misery, and 
end in separation and disgrace. If they have 
children, they may be happy and useful, or vicious 
in principle and practice, and bring their parents 
in sorrow to the grave. The issue to this career 
is good or evil, prosperous or adverse, according 
to the course of action and conduct pursued by 



PUEE GOLD. 213 

the parties on whom devolve the responsibilities 
of the domestic circle : and herein is both an 
illustration and proof of the doctrine of probation. 

The same principle governs the condition and 
happiness of all classes of men, proving that, in 
respect to this life, even, we are placed in a state 
of probation for a better state than that at first 
enjoyed, and an advanced condition of happiness; 
and that whether we reach and enjoy that state 
and condition, is a question to be determined by 
the use we make of our powers and blessings. 
This being true in respect to this life, the infer- 
ence is not only fair, but unavoidable, that it is 
also true of the life to come. 

This is confirmed by the fact, that men not 
only fail to secure the good for which they w^ere 
candidates at the time specified, but often fail 
entirely, and forever ; that is, they pass into a 
state which admits no alleviation — where atten- 
tion to conditions, were it possible, is no longer 
available — the forfeiture being irretrievable. The 
force of this argument may be stated thus : — Pro- 
bation supposes a time within which we are to be 
fitted for an advanced condition of being ; a time 
when we are to enter upon this condition, or fail- 
ing of the essential requisites forfeit it forever — 



214 SALVATION CONDITIONAL. 

and hence a liability to reach a period in our ex- 
istence when improvement and happiness will be 
no longer possible. The same facts and argu- 
ments which show this to be true, as applied to 
the inferior happiness of this life, are equally con- 
clusive in sustaining its truth as applied to the 
future and higher life, and felicity of man. The 
principle, the arguments, and the conclusion, re- 
main the same, whether we confine probation to 
this world or extend it into eternity — whether 
we allow men one probation only, or adopt the 
groundless theory of an indefinite number. 

Fourthly. — That the happiness of men in their 
future and final state is conditioned, is, in one way 
or another, asserted on almost every page of rev- 
elation. We have proved that moral happiness 
in this life is contingent ; and besides, this fact is 
generally admitted. Taking this admission as the 
starting-point, we argue on scriptural grounds, 
that this contingency exists in respect to final 
salvation. 

Men are saved in this life, if at all, by the gos- 
pel of Christ. The gospel confers salvation on 
conditions. "He that believeth shall be saved.'' 
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall 
be saved." The salvation conferred upon men 



PUEE GOLD. 215 

in their future state is gospel salvation : the very 
same enjoyed here, the essential elements of it 
being divine knowledge and holiness. If it be 
not gospel salvation, it is not properly salvation 
at all, since we know of no other ; and hence we 
must conclude wdiatever the final state of men 
may be, it is not one of salvation ; and however 
they may have acquired it, they w^ere not saved 
by Christ, since his salvation is confined to the 
present life. But if the future and final state of 
man be one of salvation, conferred on them 
through the gospel, and by Christ, it follows they 
have received it by a process identical with that 
which forms the condition of its reception and 
enjoyment on earth : that is, they are saved on 
gospel terms. If it agrees with the constitution 
of the gospel to save men conditionally in this life, 
the same must be true of the life to come. If not, 
then the gospel has one constitution for one state, 
and another for another state ; is conditional for 
one class of men, and unconditional for another : 
and indeed, to the same man, salvation is con- 
tingent at one period of existence, and at another 
depends upon no condition whatever. If con- 
ditionality agrees with the nature of the gospel, 
unconditionality most assuredly contravenes its 



216 SALVATION" CONDITIONAL. 

nature. There is only one way to escape these 
difficulties, viz., by adopting the full and proper 
scriptural doctrine that salvation is conditional. 

That this doctrine is scriptural is proved be- 
yond all question by those passages in which the 
condition is expressed. Such are the following : 
"He that believeth shall be saved, but he that 
believeth not shall be damned :" — " Except a man 
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of 
God:" — "Not every one that sayeth unto me. 
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father 
which is in heaven :" — " He that hath the son 
hath life, and he that hath not the son, hath not 
life :" — " Thou hast been faithful over a few 
things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; 
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 

There is another class of passages, addressed 
to those who have complied with the terms of 
salvation so far as to receive and enjoy it, but in 
which they are reminded that the liability to fail 
of eternal life still exists ; that as salvation is con- 
ditional in its reception, it is so, also, in its con- 
tinuance : as faith is required to commence the 
Christian life, the power of the same faith is in- 
dispensable to the maintenance of a virtuous 



PURE GOLD. 217 

course, and the cultivation of holiness. " Be thou 
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown 
of life." " Let us not be weary in well-doing, for 
in due season we shall reap if we faint not." 
" Give diligence to make your calling and elec- 
tion sure : for if ye do these things, ye shall never 
fall." "Looking diligently lest any man fail of 
the grace of God." " I keep under my body, and 
bring it into subjection, lest that by any means 
when I have preached to others, I myself should 
be a castaway." 

The above passages, specimens of a great mul- 
titude not quoted, are sufficient in number and 
force to settle the point advocated in this chapter, 
beyond dispute in all honest and unsophisticated 
minds. Salvation is free for all — possible to all 
who prize it enough to receive it on gospel terms : 
but it is not possible to any who despise or disre- 
gard the specified conditions. 

Such is the momentous doctrine which true re- 
ligion impresses on the minds of sinners, and con- 
firms and enforces by the united voice of nature, 
reason, conscience, and revelation. Every ad- 
vantage which the sinner needs, and God can con- 
sistently give, is graciously furnished : none need 
be lost — ^all have ample power to comply with 
19 



218 SALVATION CONDITIOXAL. 

every gospel condition, and secure to themselves 
the favor of God, and a title to endless bliss. 
Awfully hovering in the scale of probation 
which will raise them to heaven, or sink them 
to hell, they should not remain indifferent as to 
the result. By timely repentance and faith, they 
should make their " election sure." Whether they 
have done this or not, will, at the time appointed, 
be determined by the infallible " Judge of all the 
earth," " Who will render to every man accord- 
ing to his deeds : to them who by patient contin- 
uance in well-doing, seek for glory and honor, and 
immortality, eternal life : but unto them that are 
contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey 
unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribula- 
tion and anguish, upon every soul of man that 
doeth evil :" * * * " For there is no respect of 
persons with God." 



CHAPTEE XL 

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. NATURE OF FAITH. EMBRACES KNOWL- 
EDGE. ASSENT AND TRUST. — THE " GIFT OF GOD." FLETCHER. 

THE ONLY CONDITION OF SALVATION, WESLEY. — STANDS OPPOSED 

TO HUMAN MERIT, AND TO ALL METHODS OF EXPIATION, EXCEPT 
THAT BASED ON THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST. OBJECTIONS AN- 
SWERED. — LUTHER. 

" True faith and reason are the soul's two eyes ; 
Faith evermore looks upward, and descries 
Objects remote ; but reason can discover 
Things only near, — sees nothing that's above her." 

QUARLES. 

" Faith builds a bridge across the gulf of death, 
To break the shock blind nature cannot shun, 
And lands thought smoothly on the other shore." 

Young. 
" Faith lends its realizing light : 

The clouds disperse, the shadows fly; 
The invisible appears in sight, 
And God is seen by mortal eye." 

C. Wesley. 

In a preceding chapter we saw the necessary 
relation of true religion to Christ — that to the 
world in a fallen state, Christianity is the only true 
religious systena. But though Christianity be the 
only true religion, and Christ the only Saviour, 
there is yet a question of much importance that 



220 sALVATio:>r by faith. 

must not remain unsettled, viz. : — how does the 
sinner become personally interested in Christian 
salvation ? 

There are two facts revealed by true religion 
relative to man, more important than any other : 
these are, that man, as a sinner, is lost without 
remedy if he is to depend on his own resources — 
and that Christ is the only, and a sufficient Sav- 
iour. But these facts do not stand so related to 
each other that salvation to the sinner is a neces- 
sary consequence. The sinner may remain lost 
notwithstanding the freeness and fulness of mercy 
and grace in Christ Jesus. The sinner is guilty 
and needs pardon — is depraved and needs renew- 
ing — is morally defiled, and needs cleansing — but 
there is no such natural relation between him and 
Christ, as provides absolutely and independently 
for the bestowment of these blessings. These two 
facts — the sinner's inability, and Christ's power — 
the sinner's wretchedness, and Christ's blessed 
salvation must be brought into contact. The sin- 
ner must rely on Christ, and the virtue of Christ 
must be applied to the sinner. The sinner must 
be in Christ, and Christ must be in the sinner ; 
the guilt and wretchedness of the one, must depart 



PUEE GOLD. 221 

before the imparted mercy, and infused holiness 
and bliss of the other. 

The conditionaUty of salvation, as a general 
fact, has been considered so fully already, that on 
this truth nothing more need be said ; our atten- 
tion is now directed to that specific and only con- 
dition, which when performed, brings to the guilty 
and condemned, justifying grace, or pardoning 
mercy: that particular exercise, or act of the 
mind, which is so pre-eminent among all that 
men are required to do, that it may be denomi- 
nated the " Golden key that opens the palace of 
eternity." 

This is Faith, so frequently introduced by 
Christ and his Apostles, and insisted on as indis- 
pensable to salvation. " The terms faith, the 
faithful, etc., frequently occur in the religious 
dialect, even of the Hebrews. They were origi- 
nally taken from the language of common life, 
and transferred into the religious phraseology of 
the Jews, where they express various nearly rela- 
ted ideas. From this Jewish dialect Christ and 
the Apostles borrowed these terms. * * * In 
Hebrew, the word primarily signifies to he firm: 
and then, to be certain, sure, confident."* The 

* Knapp's Theology. 
19^ 



222 SALTATION BY FAITH. 

word faith, is often used in the Bible, in a general 
sense, with no direct reference to personal religion 
and salvation. It is employed thus, in reference 
to the certainty of divine commands and promises 
— to designate religion itself — to denote approba- 
tion of a religious teacher — and to express convic- 
tion of the truth and divinity of a doctrine. Out 
of this wide sense has arisen the particular Chris- 
tian meaning of saving faith, which is so fre- 
quently stated and illustrated by Paul, particularly 
in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, where 
he corrects the mistake and refutes the error of 
those who supposed an observance of the Law 
meritorious. 

Christian faith embraces these particulars : — 
Knowledge, assent, and trust, or confidence. 
Neither of these alone, nor any two of them, con- 
stitute faith ; all are essential to its perfection. 

First. — Knowledge. We must have knowledge 
of God before we can believe in him : we must 
have knowledge of Christ before we can confide 
in him as our Saviour ; we must have knowledge 
of the Bible before we can receive it as the word 
of God. Hence, says Paul, " How shall they be- 
lieve in him of whom they have not heard ? and 
how shall they hear without a preacher ?"*=** 



PURE GOLD. 223 

" So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing 
by the word of God :" that is, knowledge of God, 
of Christ, and divine things, is essential to Chris- 
tian faith, and this knowledge can only be secured 
through the medium of revelation, and its accom- 
panying instrumentahties. We do not say that a 
thorough and systematic acquaintance with the 
whole series of Christian truths and facts is indis- 
pensable ; though the more we know the more per- 
fect our faith may be, yet the faith that justifies 
and saves, may exist on a much narrower basis 
of knowledge and doctrine. There are some 
things, however, which must be known, or there 
can be no faith. The fact that we are sinners 
against God, and that Christ came to save us, and 
is able to save us, are among the truths we must 
know, in order to have faith. But though faith 
may consist with knowledge limited to the ele- 
mentary truths of religion, yet it always implies 
certainty ; a firm conviction of the truth and 
reality of the things known; otherwise there will 
be no such effect produced upon the mind as is 
essential to faith. 

Secondly. — Assent. Assent is not a necessary 
concomitant of knowledge. Doctrines and facts 
may be known as true and real without receiving 



224 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

our concurrence or approbation. The understand- 
ing of the professed atheist may be convinced that 
there is a God, and yet he does not yield his 
assent to the sublime truth ; his heart rebels 
against it. 

"And in the madness of his pride, he bids 
His God farewell, and turns away to be 
A God himself." 

The sinner may have both rational proof -• 
inward conviction that the claims of God's law 
upon him are righteous, and should be acknowl- 
edged, and yet he refuses to admit the unwelcome 
truth, and even manifests direct hostility, illustra- 
ting the declaration of Paul, that "the carnal mind 
is enmity against God, it is not subject to his law, 
neither indeed can be." The Jews could not 
deny the reality of Christ's miracles, yet they re- 
fused their assent to his Messiahship, and deliber- 
ately plotted his murder. 

It should be further observed, that this assent 
which must accompany knowledge, that it may 
lead to faith, is not merely speculative or intellec- 
tual : it determines the will and affects the heart. 
The understanding and heart do not always move 
in the same direction, yet they must be agreed as 
touching one thing, or there can be no saving 



PURE GOLD. 225 

faith. The faith which comes short of cordial 
approval and fellowship, is only a compelled con- 
viction of the understanding in a case where the 
heart is committed to an opposite interest. As 
faith, it can have no higher character than that 
ascribed to devils, w'ho, it is said, "believe and 
tremble." The basis of saving faith as formed by 
a cordial union of knowledge and assent, is hap- 
pily expressed by Paul to the Romans : " For with 
the heart, man belie veth unto righteousness : and 
with the mouth confession is made unto salva- 
tion." 

Thirdly. — Trust, or Confidence. This is in- 
dispensable to the perfection of Christian faith ; 
there may be an intellectual recognition and as- 
sent to the propositions of Christianity, and even 
an approval of them as well agreeing with the na- 
ture and fitness of things : or what is sometimes 
denominated an historical faith, without any such 
personal trust in the efficacy of the truths and 
facts revealed, as to produce the experience and 
practice of true religion. 

For example, there may be a recognition of the 
existence and utility of Divine Providence, with- 
out any such trust in Providence as will create a 
feeling of security under providential protection. 



226 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

There may be a theoretic approval of the will of 
God as right, and yet no personal resignation to 
his will. The promises of God may be regarded 
as immutable in their nature, and certain in their 
fulfilment, and still, there may be in the mind, no 
consciousness of a personal interest in them, no 
individual trust which gives assurance of the 
blessings promised. In like manner, a theoretic ac- 
knowledgment of Christ as the Saviour of sinners, 
and an approval of him in this character, may be 
without saving effect, because unconnected with 
personal confidence in, and reliance on Christ as 
a present Saviour. This is the highest grade of 
Christian faith ; it is the faith that saves the soul 
from guilt and sin. Though the sinner may have 
correct historical knowledge of Christ — may ap- 
prove his character, and the benevolent design of 
his mission — may so appreciate his condition as a 
sinner as to cry out, " O ! wretched man that I 
am, who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death ?'* Yet, until he believes in Christ as his 
Saviour, with a firm, personal reliance, he is 
not an experimental Christian. Until this act 
of the mind which the Scriptures denominate 
faith, there is no union with Christ, no act of for- 
giveness, no justification of the ungodly, no regen- 



PURE GOLD. 227 

eration, and no cleansing application of the blood 
of Christ. 

"Christian faith is then," says Mr. Wesley, 
"not only an assent to the whole gospel of Christ, 
but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ : a 
trust in the merits of his life, death, and resurrec- 
tion ; a recumbency upon him as our atonement 
and our life, as given for us and living in us. It 
is a sure confidence which a man hath in God 
that through the merits of Christ, his sins are for- 
given, and he reconciled to the favor of God; and, 
in consequence hereof, a closing with him, and 
cleaving to him, as our Vv^isdom, righteousness, 
sanctification, and redemption, or, in one wordj 
our salvation."* 

This is the faith described by Paul — Eph. ii. 8. 
" By grace are ye saved, through faith ; and that 
not of yourselves : it is the gift of God." The 
salvation conferred upon us through faith, as the 
condition, is of grace, in the same sense in which 
all spiritual advantages and blessings are of grace. 
All has been forfeited by sin, hence, their restora- 
tion is an act of pure, unmixed favor. This grace 
received its outward manifestation through the 
redemption of Christ, and to all personal sinners 
* Sermon, Salvation by Faith. 



228 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

this salvation thus procured, is offered on condi- 
tion of faith. And there is no contrariety between 
faith and grace : salvation is of " faith, that it 
might be by grace." The sinner no more merits 
salvation by his faith, than the beggar merits the 
boon he seeks by asking. This is plain from the 
fact that faith is itself " the gift of God." 

It is a question worth considering here. In what 
sense is faith the gift of God ? There has been, 
and doubtless still is, some misapprehension at this 
point. As there is a natural disposition to avoid 
responsibiHty when it can be done on a plausible 
pretext, so in the present case, it is to many pleas- 
ing rather than otherwise, to have faith, as " th& 
gift of God," explained in such a light as will ex- 
cuse or mitigate, the sin of unbelief. 

" Some persons think that faith is as much out 
of our power as the lightning that shoots from a 
distant cloud : they suppose that God drives sin- 
ners to the fountain of Christ's blood as irresisti- 
bly as the infernal legion drove the herd of swine 
into the sea of Galilee ; and that a man is as pas- 
sive in the first act of faith as Jonah was in the 
fish which cast him upon the shore. Hence the 
absurd plea of many who lay fast hold of the 
horns of the devil's altar, unbelief, and cry out, — 



PUEE GOLD. 229 

We can no more believe, than we can make a 
world." # * * # <' Believing is the gift of 
the God of grace, as breathing, moving, and eat- 
ing, are gifts of the G-od of nature. He gives me 
lungs and air that I may breathe : he gives me 
life and muscles that I may move : he bestows 
upon me food and a mouth that I may eat : and 
when I have no appetite, he gives me common 
sense to see I must die, or force myself to take 
some nourishment, or some medicine. But he 
neither breathes, moves, nor eats for me : nay, 
when I think proper, I can accelerate my breath- 
ing, motion, and eating : and if I please I can 
even fast, lie down, or hang myself, and by that 
means put an end to my eating, moving, and 
breathing. 

" Once more ; — Faith is the gift of God to be- 
lievers, as sight is to you. The Parent of good 
freely gives you the light of the sun, and organs 
proper to receive it ; he places you in a world 
where that light visits you daily : he apprizes you 
that sight is conducive to your safety, pleasure, 
and profit ; and everything around you bids you 
use your eyes and see : nevertheless, you may 
not only drop your curtains, and extinguish your 
candle, but close your eyes also. This is exactly 
.20 



230 SALVATIOIT BY FAITH. 

the case with regard to faith. Free grace re 
moves the total blindness which Adam's fall 
brought upon us : free grace gently sends us 
some beams of truth, which is the light of the 
' sun of righteousness : it disposes the eyes of our 
understanding to see those beams ; it excites us 
various ways to welcome them ; it blesses with 
many, perhaps with all, the means of faith, such 
as opportunities to hear, read, inquire ; and power 
to consider, assent, consent, resolve, and re-resolve 
to believe the truth. 

"But after all, believing is as much our own act 
as seeing. We may, nay, in general do, suspend 
or omit the act of faith ; especially when that act 
is not yet become habitual, and when the glaring 
light that sometimes accompanies the revelation 
of truth is abated. Nay, we may imitate Pha- 
roah, Judas, and all reprobates ; we may do by 
the eye of faith what some report Democritus 
did by his bodily e3^es. Being tired of seeing the 
follies of mankind to rid himself of that disagree- 
able sight, he put his eyes out. We may be so 
averse from the light which enlightens every man 
which comes into the world ; we may so dread it 
because our works are evil, as to exemplify, Hke 
the Pharisees, such awful declarations as these : 



PURE GOLD. 231 

* Their eyes have they closed, lest they should 
see/ &:c. : ' Wherefore God gave them up to a 
reprobate mind,' and ' they were blinded.' In- 
deed, the very language of the great commission, 
under which the gospel is preached to sinners, 
indicates that faith, though the gift of God, is, as 
to its exercise, in the power of the creature: 'He 
that believeth shall be saved ; but he that believ- 
eth not shall be damned.' " 

The faith thus described, and which is in the 
power of every man who honestly desires to use 
it, is the condition of salvation. Though con- 
nected with many things inseparable from the 
Christian life — duties, and mental acts and exer- 
cises, which both precede and follow faith, yet 
nothing thus associated is, either in whole or in 
part, the condition of justification. This act of 
trust in Christ is the faith which justifies from 
past sin, or brings to the soul the assurance of 
pardoning mercy. 

There can be no true, justifying faith without 
repentance ; yet repentance is not faith. Though 
a man repent during his whole life, if he do not 
also believe in Christ, he cannot be saved. Re- 
pentance in itself neither saves from sin nor from 
sinning. As true faith cannot exist except ia 



232 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

connection with a firm resolve to act upon it in 
practical life, so, it cannot live after the first mo- 
ment of being, unless this purpose be executed. 
And yet these fruits which follow faith, and flow 
from it, are not faith itself, nor do they have any 
share in the work of procuring salvation, or any 
hon^r as a condition on w^hich divine favor is 
conferred. Salvation is procured by the atone- 
ment, and faith is the only condition on which 
the purchased benefits of atonement become 
available. Here we beg leave again to quote 
from Wesley, who on this, as on other nice points 
in theology, thought and wrote with remarkable 
clearness and precision. 

" Surely the difficulty of assenting to the prop- 
osition, that faith is the only condition of justifi- 
cation, must arise from not understanding it. We 
mean thereby thus much, that it is the only thing 
without which no one is justified : the only thing 
that is immediately, indispensably, and absolutely 
requisite in order to pardon. As, on the one hand, 
though a man should have everything else with- 
out faith, yet he cannot be justified, so on the 
other, though he be supposed to want everything 
else, yet if he have faith, he cannot but be justi- 
fied. For suppose a sinner of any kind or degree, 



PURE GOLD. 28B 

in a full sense of his total ungodliness, of his utter 
inability to think, speak, or do good, and his ab- 
solute meetness for hellfire : suppose, I say, this 
sinner, helpless and hopeless, casts himself wholly 
on the mercy of God in Christ, (which indeed he 
cannot do but by the grace of God,) who can 
doubt but he is forgiven in that moment? who 
will affirm that any more is indispensably re- 
quired before that sinner can be justified ?" 

To the above, which sets forth with sufficient 
clearness what justification is, and how it is con- 
ditioned upon faith, we need only add, that though 
faith may be considered in the abstract as the 
condition of justification, yet in the mind and 
heart of the Christian it does not live and remain 
alone. As it is preceded by evangelical repent- 
ance, it is also followed by evangelical fruit.. 
From the first moment of its existence it becomes 
a principle of spiritual vitality in the heart and 
life of the Christian. By exercising and cultiva- 
ting faith, he cultivates and practises all the 
graces and virtues of the Christian character. 
True faith "works by love, and purifies the heart." 

Having given this brief (though we hope satis- 
factory) view of saving faith, as to its nature, and 
as the condition of justification, we will devote 
20=*^ 



234 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

the remainder of this chapter to a review of cer- 
tain forms of error related to the subject of justi- 
fication, and to which gospel faith stands inflexi- 
bly opposed. 

First. — It stands opposed to all merit except 
the merit of Christ. The idea that intelligent, 
moral beings can ever, by any possibility, perform 
a single act of righteousness, beyond what they 
are bound to do by virtue of their dependence on 
God and their relations to him, is condemned 
equally by reason and revelation. This is true 
of all those beings who have never in a single 
instance violated the divine command, or failed 
in their duty. Such can claim nothing on the 
score of merit. They are justified by the deeds 
of the law, but nothing more ; they have at no 
point gone beyond the requirements of duty. 

This being true of unfallen beings, it certainly 
cannot be less so of those who have directly 
transgressed, or otherwise failed to meet the 
righteous claims of Jehovah. If while holy and 
obedient they could in no case go beyond the 
demands of law, much less can they do so after 
becoming disobedient and guilty. And yet, un- 
less they can, in their guilty and fallen state, 
perform meritorious deeds, they can never relieve 



PURE GOLD. 235 

themselves, but must ever remain under the curse 
of God. And what the guilty cannot do for them- 
selves, others cannot do for them. The com- 
bined efforts of all unfallen beings in the created 
universe, cannot avail to merit the salvation of 
one sinner. 

Secondly.— \i stands opposed to all schemes of 
satisfaction for sin, except that based on the 
atonement of Christ. Of these schemes we shall 
mention only two. First, that which claims sat- 
isfaction by repentance. The idea that repentance 
satisfies for crime, is so chimerical, that no one 
has ever ventured to make it the ruHng principle 
in a human government, and it would be still 
more absurd and impracticable in the government 
of God. The sinner, of himself, has power to 
repent, or he has not. If he have, he would never 
fail to call it to his aid when necessary to, avoid 
punishment; and this would be equivalent to an 
abrogation of all penal enactments, and would an- 
nihilate the force and authority of all law. But 
if he cannot repent of himself, then he has no 
security in repentance against the legal conse- 
quences of his sins, and repentance may not be a 
satisfaction for crime. If it be said that the 
power to repent is a gracious gift of God, we an- 



236 salvatio:n' by faith. 

swer : this gift is conditional, or it is uncondi- 
tional and absolute. If conditional, then the 
condition may, or may not be performed, and 
satisfaction by repentance is not sure, since re- 
pentance itself is contingent. Repentance being 
contingent, the sinner has power of himself to 
perform the condition on which it depends, or he 
has not. If he have not, then he cannot have re- 
pentance as a satisfaction for his sins ; if he have 
power to perform the condition on which repent- 
ance is suspended, he w^ould never fail to use it 
when his sins placed him in peril, and this again 
would amount to an abrogation of law and an 
overthrow of Government. But if the gracious 
power to repent and thus make amends for trans- 
gression, be supposed unconditional and absolute, 
this would be equivalent to a Romish indulgence, 
with a pledge of absolute security against all pun- 
ishment for crime. From this it is obvious, the 
scheme of satisfaction by repentance is false were 
it safe, and is unsafe and vicious were it true. 

The second scheme of satisfaction to which 
justification by faith stands opposed, has for its 
ruling idea the efficacy of punishment to deliver 
from sin, and restore the offender to divine favor. 
This theory is open to the following objections : — 



PUEE GOLD. 237 

First. — It is unreasonable. It supposes men 
have capacities which are not at all times fully 
pledged to the Creator. For if they have not such 
independent and unpledged capacities, then there 
is an incapacity of receiving and enduring pun- 
ishment to the extent demanded, and indeed to 
any extent without a corresponding failure to 
meet the demands of the law in the way of obe- 
dience. To say we have capacity to endure 
punishment in satisfaction for past sins, and at 
the same time obey the law to the full extent of 
its demands, is to say that sin and its punishment 
do not interfere in the least with the exercise of 
our faculties and the performance of duty, and 
are no hindrance to holiness. That is, the sinner 
may be just as obedient and holy while sinning 
and being punished for sin, as he can be in main- 
taining a perfect freedom from sin. But if this 
notion is an outrage upon common sense — if we 
have no surplus capacities, or susceptibilities, but 
owe all to God, then is satisfaction by punishment 
impossible. That which is absorbed in punish- 
ment is abstracted from obedience ; and the result 
is the same whether we consider punishment 
strictly penal or only disciplinary. It is obvious, 
therefore, that guilt once incurred can never be 



238 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

removed by the punishment of the offender. Could 
we suppose any power in punishment to remove 
guilt, we must always be met by this difficulty, 
viz., that punishment for past sin, and perfect 
present obedience, are incompatible ; if punish- 
ment diminishes the guilt already incurred, it at 
the same time places the subject in such circum- 
stances that obedience is impossible, and fresh 
guilt must be incurred, The very means sup- 
posed to be efficacious in removing sin, become 
the occasion of increased sinfulness. 

Secondly. — It is unphilosophical. Should we 
admit the efficacy of punishment in satisfying for 
past transgression, (which we do not,) it does not 
meet the demands of the case, because the foun- 
tain or seeds of sin remain untouched : it does 
not, and cannot destroy sin. Though every act 
of sin should be atoned for, or expiated by pun- 
ishment as soon as committed, still sin would con- 
tinue to flow out from its un cleansed fountain, ad 
infinitum. So far as punishment arises out of a 
sinful course, it is the natural consequence or 
effect of sin. It sustains the same relation to sin 
that the effect does to the cause. To say that 
punishment can satisfy for sin, and put an end to 
sin, is to say an effect can react upon its cause 



PUEE GOLD, 289 

and destroy it. The same is true of positive 
inflictions, whether viewed as penal or only dis- 
ciplinary. They cannot, neither is it their ob- 
ject, to reach the cause of sin and destroy it. 
Penal inflictions are administered by the hand of 
justice, in view of the ill-desert of sinners, and are 
intended only to sustain and honor the violated 
law\ Disciplinary punishment does indeed con- 
template the reformation of oflfenders, but it is 
only by acting as a motive, under a system of 
grace and mercy, which provides for pardoning 
sin through the virtue of an atonement. 

Hence whether punishment be penal or disci- 
plinary, it cannot in itself remove or destroy sin. 
It would be quite as philosophical to suppose 
power in the stream to react upon and destroy the 
fountain from whence it flows. 

Thirdly. — It is unscriptural. It is identical 
wath justification by the law, which is flatly con- 
tradictory to the letter and spirit of the Gospel. 
The following passages are so clear and unequiv- 
ocal, that it is only necessary to quote them to 
refute the theory in question. " Therefore, by the 
deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified 
in his sight.'' " For what the law could not do in 
that it was weak through the flesh, God sending 



240 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

his own Son in the hkeness of sinful flesh, and for 
sin, condemned sin in the flesh : that the right- 
eousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who 
walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." " For 
if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is 
dead in vain." " For if there had been a law 
given which could have given life, verily, right- 
eousness should have been by the law." " By 
grace are ye saved through faith." " Thy faith 
hath saved thee." " But that no man is justified 
by the law in the sight of God, it is evident : for 
the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of 
faith." 

The following points are made so plain by this 
language, that they do not need to be argued, 
viz. : — That no law has been given which can give 
life, and therefore justification by the law is im- 
possible — that Christ has been given to do for us, 
by his atonement and pardoning mercy, what the 
law cannot do, — and that he becomes available to 
us as a Saviour, only as we believe in him : — 
" Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Here then, these schemes of satisfaction, and 
erroneous views of the plan of salvation being ex- 
tilodt<'\ we are again conducted to the conclusion 



PUKE GOLD. 241 

before reached — that faith is the only condition 
of pardon and salvation. "To him that worketh 
not, (as a ground of pardon,) but beheveth on him 
that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is accounted 
to him for righteousness." To this view of justi- 
fication by faith in Christ, as the procuring and 
meritorious cause of human salvation, several 
objections have been stated : but there is only one 
vjQ deem of sufficient importance to claim atten- 
tion, viz.: — "That it encourages sin, and is there- 
fore unfavorable to morality." That some who 
believe the doctrine may abuse it by presuming 
upon the mercy of God is quite possible : but that 
any such tendency arises out of the nature of faith 
is not true. This is sufficiently obvious from the 
following facts. 

First. — This faith is only possible to the awa- 
kened, penitent sinner : the man who feels his sins 
a burden, and wishes to renounce them forever. 

Secondly. — As men can only receive faith in 
connection with an unwavering purpose to use 
the power it imparts in renouncing sin and culti- 
vating holiness, so they can retain it no longer 
than they honestly endeavor to give practical 
effect to that purpose. 

Thirdly. — The faith delineated above is saving 
21 



242 SALVATION BY FAITH. 

in its power. Though alone as the condition of 
justification, yet it is not alone as a Christian 
grace. Christ said to one who had believed, 
" Thy faith hath saved thee." That which saves 
from sin, cannot be the minister of sin. 

Fourthly. — It " works by love and purifies the 
heart." It is the channel to convey divine love 
to the heart : and under its power, this love be- 
comes active and diflfusive ; it purifies the heart 
of its possessor, and " worketh no ill to his neigh- 
bor." All abuses of this or any other true doc- 
trine are chargeable only to depravity and self- 
deception ; all the good there is in man, is of God, 
through the faith of Christ. 

The exercise of this faith in such degree as 
suits it to the nature of the dispensation under 
which men live, is indispensable to salvation. To 
us, it is the central truth of the gospel. With it, 
we have true religion, true piety, and a valid hope of 
heaven ; without it, our religion and hopes are false. 

We close this chapter with a passage from the 
intrepid Luther. " I see," says he, in a time of 
severe trial and great opposition, " that the devil, 
by means of his teachers and doctors, is inces- 
santly attacking this fundamental article, and that 
he cannot rest to cease from his object. Well, 



PUEE GOLD. 243 

then, I, Doctor Martin Luther, an unworthy- 
evangelist of our Lord Jesus Christ, do confess 
this article, ' that faith alone, without works, jus- 
tifies in the sight of God :' and I declare, that in 
spite of the emperor of the Romans, the emperor 
of the Turks, the emperor of the Tartars, the 
emperor of the Persians, the pope, and all the 
cardinals, bishops, priests, monks, nuns, kings, 
princes, nobles, all the world, and all the devils, it 
shall stand unshaken forever ! that if they will 
persist in opposing this truth, they will draw upon 
their heads the flames of hell. This is the true 
and holy gospel, and the declaration of me. Doc- 
tor Martin Luther : according to the light given 
to me by the Holy Spirit. There is no one who 
has died for our sins, but Jesus Christ, the Son of 
God. I repeat it once more : let all the evil spir- 
its of earth and hell foam and rage as they will, 
this is nevertheless true. And if Christ alone take 
away sin, we cannot do so by all our works. 
But good works follow redemption, as surely as 
fruit follows on a living tree. This is our doc- 
trine, this the Holy Spirit teacheth, together with 
all holy Christian people. We hold it in God's 
name. Amen."* 

* History of the Reformation. 



CHAPTER XII. 

TRUE RELIGION IS EXPERIMENTAL. — DESIGN AND TENDENCY OF 
TRUTH. HOW TO ESTIMATE ITS VALUE. TRUE RELIGIOUS EXPE- 
RIENCE IS DERIVED THROUGH THE APPLICATION AND OPERATION 
OF TRUTH. REPENTANCE. ASSURANCE OF PARDON. REGENERA- 
TION. — " WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT." PROGRESS IN KNOWLEDGE 

AND HOLINESS. CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

"The hand is raised, the pledge is given, 
One monarch to obey, one creed to own,— 
That monarch God ; that creed, his word alone." 

Spraque. 
" All things that speak of heaven, speak of peace." 

Bailey's Festus. 
"His Spirit answers to the blood, 
And tells me I am born of God." 

C. Weslkt. 

True religion is experimental. It is not con- 
fined to an intellectual recognition of doctrines 
and facts, however true, important, and necessary. 
It does not stop with an observance of rites and 
ceremonials, however appropriate and beautiful. 
It seeks to rectify the heart — to purify and ele- 
vate the affections, and bring the whole man un- 
der its sanctifying and controlling power. It is 
not " meat and drink : but righteousness and 
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 



PUEE GOLD. 245 

It is desirable to know and be familiar with 
truth of every description : yet mere knowledge 
is not necessarily beneficial. Its advantage to 
ourselves and others, depends upon the influence 
it exerts upon the mind and heart, and the service 
to which it is devoted. 

It is the object and tendency of all truth to 
strengthen the understanding, and unfold the 
higher powers of our nature; all truth comes from 
God, and rightly employed, it leads to him as its 
great source and centre. But religious truth 
does more than this. It is a department by itself. 
Addressed, as it is, to beings of perverted na- 
tures, it is its design to transform as well as un- 
fold and strengthen. It is the highest and purest 
kind of knowledge to sinless intelligences, and as 
they cherish it, leads them to still higher expe- 
rience of the bliss of holy communion with God. 
But revealed to a fallen world, it has a special mis- 
sion — to arrest depravity, renew the heart, and re- 
direct the mind and affections to the right object 
of worship, and only source of true happiness. 

Truth is in itself preferable to error under any 

circumstances. But the estimation in which it is 

held must ever be graduated by the relation it 

sustains to the true system, and the control it ex- 

21* 



246 experime:n-tal religion. 

erts over the best interests of moral beings. As 
error is more or less detestable in the ratio that it 
darkens and poisons the mind, vitiates the heart, 
and weakens the sense of moral obligation so 
essential to a right course of action : in like man- 
ner, to all right-minded persons, the value of truth 
becomes greatly enhanced, as it is seen to lay at 
the foundation of morality and felicity. The 
principles and doctrines discussed and illustrated 
in the foregoing pages, are not merely true as dis- 
tinguished from that which is false, but true also 
in their nice adjustment, and harmonious relations 
to each other, so as to form a beautiful and sub- 
lime system of truth ; nor is this all : the system 
thus formed is the only true one — is the basis of 
true religion — leads to the only true experience 
in religious life — and is alone capable of an in- 
fluence, renovating and sanctifying upon the 
hearts and lives of men. The value of these 
truths therefore cannot be estimated, except by 
an intellect capable of calculating the worth of 
the soul, and the measure of improvement and 
happiness of which it is susceptible. 

The experimental department of true religion 
embraces those spiritual influences of which the 
mind of the Christian is conscious, or those moral 



PURE GOLD. 247 

effects produced by the power of God upon the 
mind and heart. These effects rarely, if ever, ex- 
ist to an extent that is practically useful, unless 
the mind have a perception, more or less true and 
clear, of that system of doctrine on which true re- 
ligion is based, and of the individual obligations 
imposed. This system of truth reveals to the 
mind what God is, what man is, what God re- 
quires man to be, and to do, that he may be holy 
and happy forever. And when a case of true 
religious experience occurs, it is by the action of 
these truths upon the mind and heart, as the me- 
dium through which divine influence is imparted. 
Experimental religion includes the following par- 
ticulars. 

First. — Repentance. — This embraces two ele- 
ments — knowledge of sin, and sorrow for sin. By 
knowledge of sin, we mean what is usually under- 
stood by religious conviction — an impression, di- 
rect and forcible, made upon the mind by the 
power of truth. Where there is no law there is 
no transgression, and where there is no transgres- 
sion there can be no knowledge of sin, and no re- 
pentance. " By the law is the knowledge of sin." 
"I was alive without the law once," says Paul, 
" but when the commandment came, sin revived, 



248 EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 

and I died." Repentance, then, necessarily im- 
plies previous knowledge of the law. It does 
more — it supposes knowledge of personal offence 
against the law, and that this violation of its right- 
eous claims, is not the result of ignorance — or in- 
ability to keep the law : but designed and wilful 
— or at least, the consequence of carelessness and 
inattention to duty. These two facts being clear- 
ly understood, conviction must follow ; that is, the 
sinner must be convinced that he is under sentence 
of divine condemnation. His own conscience 
corroborates the testimony of God's word, that he 
is a sinner. But this is not repentance : before 
it is entitled to this name, knowledge of sin must 
ripen into sorrow for sin. These two states of 
mind do not always co-exist. We may be con- 
scious of sin, and yet have no sorrow for sin, but 
on the contrary an inward love of it, and a disposi- 
tion to continue its practice. Sorrow for sin, and 
abhorrence of it, are always founded on a previous 
knowledge of sin, but it is produced in different 
ways, and exists in different degrees. If it arise 
only from a view of the temporal calamities sin 
has brought upon us, it is nothing more than the 
" sorrow of the world" which " worketh death." 
To be genuine, it must be that " godly sorrow" 



PURE GOLD. 249 

which " worketh repentance not to be repented 
of:" an inward, heartfelt grief, arising from a just 
sense of the dreadful turpitude of sin : such a 
sense of our ingratitude and criminality, as will 
wring the soul with anguish. " O wretched man 
that I am," — 

" If sorrow would suffice 
To pay the debt I owe, 
Tears should, from both my weeping eyes, 
In ceaseless currents flow." 

" But to this man will I look, even to him that 
is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at 
my word." (Isaiah Ixvi. 2.) " Blessed are they 
that mourn, for they shall be comforted." 

If the question be asked, How much of this sor- 
row must be possessed, and how long exercised, 
before it amounts to repentance, we can answer 
no otherwise, than by saying, when it produces in 
us an aversion to sin, a hatred and loathing of it, 
a vehement desire to escape it, a fixed purpose to 
renounce it forever — then it is true repentance, 
whatever the quantity of feeling, or the length of 
time the mind has been thus exercised. 

Secondly. — The assurance of pardon or forgive- 
ness. The ground of pardon is the atonement — 
the condition on which it becomes available to 



250 EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 

the sinful is faith. Saving faith is only possible to 
the truly penitent. Repentance prepares the way 
for faith, and faith brings a consciousness of par- 
doning mercy. Pardon of sin, may be described 
as that act of God whereby he treats a guilty sin- 
ner as though he were innocent.. This implies 
two things — the removal of the punishment of 
sin — and a joyful sense of divine favor. The 
terms pardon, forgiveness, remission, and justifi- 
cation, are often, and interchangeably used in the 
Scriptures to describe this change in the moral 
relations and feelings of the believing penitent. 
All these words imply the removal of punishment 
deserved on account of sin, and are used in such 
connections as make it apparent that they also in- 
clude the bestowment of spiritual blessings. 

" Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, 
whose sin is covered." (Ps. xxxii. 1.) "O Lord, 
I will praise thee : though thou wast angry with 
me, thine anger is turned away, and thou com- 
fortest me." (Isaiah xii. 1.) Paul tells us, (Rom. 
iii. 25,) that God has set forth Jesus Christ to be 
a "propitiation through faith in his blood, * * * * 
for the remission of sins that are past, through the 
forbearance of God." The moral effect of this re* 
mission is stated in the first verse of the fifth 



PURE &OLD. 251 

chapter, "We have peace with God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 

It is not possible to conceive of pardon for the 
guilly, apart from removal of punishment. If it 
do not imply this, it implies nothing, and should 
not be recorded among the blessings of redemp- 
tion. But though the forgiveness of sins removes 
deserved punishment, and places the guilty in 
such relations to God that they become objects 
of divine complacency, yet it does not change 
guilt into innocence, or make sinful conduct other 
than it is. " The guilt of sin once committed can 
never be effaced. The conscience of the trans- 
gressor can never be made to pronounce him in- 
nocent, but will always regard him as having sin- 
ned. It is enough to compose his mind, to know 
and be convinced, that the punishment of sin has 
been remitted : * * * but God himself cannot re- 
move the guilt of sin in its proper sense. For, 
God cannot err, and consider an action which is 
actually wrong, and consequently involves guilt, 
as right in itself He, however, can forgive us, 
or remit the punishment which we deserve. He 
can regard and treat us on certain conditions, as 
if we were innocent."* 

* Knapp. 



252 EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 

Thirdly. — Inseparable from the assurance of 
pardoning mercy, and consciousness of divine fa- 
vor is the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, 
denominated in theological language, regenera- 
tion. In Scripture language it is described as the 
" circumcision of the heart" — being " born again" 
— " a new creature," &c. This gracious change 
is not included in the act of pardon. Pardon is a 
work performed for us in the court of heaven : 
regeneration is wrought in the soul. Pardon re- 
moves the condemnation and punishment of sin — 
regeneration removes its love and dominion. Par- 
don is a change of our relation, from that of a con- 
demned culprit, to that of a justified or acquitted 
subject — regeneration is a change of heart, or, 
such a change of our moral nature as gives a new 
direction and application of the moral powers. 
Pardon takes our name from the record of death 
— regeneration writes it in the book of life. 

Though these works are, in their nature, and in 
the order of time in which they occur, distinct 
from each other, yet they are always associated 
in the experience of the true Christian. The first 
removes divine displeasure, and the legal conse- 
quences of sin ; the last restores divine life to the 
soul, and imparts power to love God, delight in his 



PURE GOLD. ■ 253 

service, and rejoice in abundant spiritual conso- 
lation. " It is that mighty change in man, wrought 
by the Holy Spirit, by which the dominion which 
sin has over him in his natural state, and which 
he deplores and struggles against in his penitent 
state, is broken and abolished, so that with full 
choice of will, and the energy of right affections, 
he serves God freely, and runs in the way of his 
commandments/'* 

Fourthly. — The assurance of this state of par- 
don and regeneration, is brought to the mind, and 
our adoption as children of God, is made a glo- 
rious reality by the " Witness of the Spirit." 
This is taught in 'the following passages : " For 
we have not received the spirit of bondage again 
to fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 
Abba, Father. The spirit itself beareth witness 
with our spirit, that we are the children of God." 
— (Rom. viii. 15, 16.) " And because ye are sons, 
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into 
your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." 

That God should afford us the means of deter- 
mining the validity of our hopes and claims as 
Christians, is a dictate of reason. Having made 
it impossible that we should escape conviction of 

* "Watson. 
22 



254: EXPERIMENTAL RELIGI02T. 

our depravity and guilt, it is a reasonable suppo- 
sition that he would not leave us in painful un- 
certainty as to our acceptance with him, after 
having complied with the terms of salvation. So 
far as relates to this world, it would be better to 
remain in ignorance of our lost condition as sin- 
ners, than have a vivid conception of this, with- 
out the means of salvation, or the possibility of 
knowing we are saved. As Christian experience 
embraces a painful sense of guilt and apprehen- 
sion of danger, it should also include a pleasing, 
joyful, and assuring knowledge of salvation. Such 
it does include according to the language above 
quoted. God has taken good care that the peni- 
tent believer in Christ shall have " beauty for ashes, 
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise 
for the spirit of heaviness." 

It should be observed here, that the testimony 
upon which we receive a satisfactory and joyful 
assurance of our adoption as children of God is 
two-fold : derived from our own spirit, and from 
the Spirit of God. By the testimony of the Spirit 
of God, which is antecedent to that of our own, 
we mean " an inward impression on the souls of 
believers, whereby the Spirit of God directly testi- 
fies to their spirit, that they are the children of 



PUEE GOLD, 255 

God." By the testimony of our ovi^n spirit, which 
is indirect, and arises out of the work of grace 
upon the heart, we mean self-knowledge, or a 
consciousness that we have experienced such a 
change in the dispositions and affections of the 
mind and heart, that we hate sin, and love God — 
delight and rejoice in him with a loving and obe- 
dient heart. " Christians bear in their own hearts 
the evidence that the divine life, which they re- 
ceive, constitutes them children of God, for from 
the time of his becoming a believer, the Christian 
feels within him a tender filial love to his God, 
whereas the man who is still in bondage to the 
law, from a sense of the variance betwixt them, 
experiences apprehension and anxiety before 
God."* By the concurrent testimony of these 
two witnesses, the Christian is enabled to realize 
in his experience all that is implied in 1 John v. 
10, " He that belie veth on the Son of God hath the 
witness in himself." 

Fifthly. — True religious experience admits, and 
requires, progress in knowledge and holiness. By 
this we mean no more than is implied in the lan- 
guage of 2 Pet. iii. 18 — "But grow in grace, and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
* Tholuck. 



256 EXPEEIMENTAL RELIGIOIT. 

Christ." Every person is bound to be religious 
as soon as the mind admits the idea, with its ele- 
mentary bearings ; but it is not expected the sub- 
ject will be fully understood at that early period. 
Indeed, neither the constitution of the mind nor 
the nature of the subject allows maturity at first. 
But as the mental powers are developed, and fa- 
miliarity with the sources of information is ac- 
quired, knowledge of God and ourselves, as re- 
lated to him, should increase correspondingly. 
As the theme is infinite, and the mind immortal, 
this progression in knowledge may be endless, 
while the obligation under which we exist makes 
it our imperative duty to devote every new ac- 
quisition to the glory of the Creator. 

The same is true of holiness, or assimilation to 
the moral likeness of God. Adam was bound to 
advance in holiness from the first moment of his 
existence ; and being created free from sin, his 
condition was on that account the more favorable 
for such advancement. But we do not com- 
mence our religious life with the same advantage. 
Whatever our knowledge may be, we have sinful 
tendencies, and often an accumulation of guilt on 
account of personal transgression. In the expe- 
rience and growth of every Christian, the disa- 



PURE GOLD. 257 

bilities of sin are first to be removed. Condem- 
nation must first be removed by pardon — the do- 
minion of sin must be broken by regeneration ; and 
from this vantage-ground we are to go on unto per- 
fection — to that state of experience and power in 
divine things described as loving God "with all 
our heart," as reckoning ourselves to be "indeed 
dead unto sin, and alive to God through Jesus 
Christ our Lord." 

After the sinner is saved, on his faith in Christ, 
from all outward and inward sin, there is still a 
growth in holiness. Indeed, progression from this 
point is the more easy from having acquired this 
state of perfection. The following remarks of a 
distinguished and popular writer are so judicious 
and convincing, that we beg leave to substitute 
them for our own : — 

" That a thing may be perfect in its nature, 
and yet be susceptible of growth, or advancement 
in degree, is, I suppose, a matter of common ob- 
servation. An oak, when it first rises above the 
surface of the ground, is so small and weak that 
it may be easily trodden under foot; and yet it 
is as really and truly an oak as when it subse- 
quently stands forth in the strength and stature 

of a hundred years. A human being is, in his 
22* 



258 EXPEEIMENTAL RELIGION. 

nature, as much a human being in the period of 
infancy as in the subsequent expansion and growth 
of manhood. And so consider a man in relation 
to any intellectual power of the mind, or in rela- 
tion to any appetite or affection of the mind, and 
the same view may very properly be taken. A 
person is a reasoner, for instance : he understands 
perfectly the principles and process of reasoning, 
and he may be able to apply the principles and 
process perfectly in a given case ; and yet under 
the favorable influence of the law of habit, he 
may much increase the promptness and facility, 
and consequent perfection, in the operations of 
this mental faculty. Again, an intemperate man 
may become perfectly temperate, and yet we all 
know the general fact, that one who is thus en- 
tirely reformed from intemperance is more likely 
to be overcome by temptation in the earlier pe- 
riods of his reformation than when subsequently 
the temperate principle has acquired growth and 
strength. 

"And we may not only say, in general terms, 
that there may be a growth in perfection, but 
may assert further, that the thing which is most 
perfect, if it be susceptible of growth at all, will 
have the most sure and rapid growth. Which 



PURE GOLD. 259 

grows most, and in the best manner, the flower 
which is whole and perfect in its incipient state, 
or that which has a canker in it, or is otherwise 
injured and defective in some of its parts? Which 
will grow the most rapidly and symmetrically, 
the child which is perfect in its infancy, or one 
which is afflicted with some malformation ? Il- 
lustrations and facts of this kind seem to make it 
clear that the spiritually renovated state of mind, 
which is variously called holiness, perfect love, 
and sanctification, may be susceptible of growth 
and increase. It is not only evident that there is 
no natural or physical impossibility in it, but, as 
has been intimated, we may go further, and lay 
it down as a general truth, that perfection in the 
nature of a thing is requisite to perfection in de- 
gree. And accordingly, although it is possible 
for a person who is partially holy to grow in holi- 
ness, a person who is entirely holy, although he 
may be assailed by unfavorable influences out- 
wardly, will grow much more. The obstacles to 
growth in holiness will not only be much less in 
the latter case than in the former, but that inward 
vitality, which is necessary to the greatest expan- 
sion and progress, will possess a positive and 



260 EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION. 

effective power, unknown under other circum- 
stances. 

" These views not only commend themselves 
to common observation and the lights of human 
reason, but we remark, in the second place, that 
they are also fully in accordance with what we 
are taught in the Scriptures. * * * * The 
Scriptures everywhere speak of growth. They 
do not recognize the idea of standing still : and 
all those passages, which require growth of grace 
and religious knowledge, are as applicable after 
the experience of sanctification as before."* 

In this chapter, without exhausting the subject, 
or descending to a particularity unsuited to our 
plan, we have given, in brief, the scriptural, and 
only true view of religious experience. True 
religion, as to its spirit and essence, is the same, 
whether it burn in the heart and direct the pow- 
ers of beings who have never sinned, increasing 
their happiness as it carries them forward to 
higher degrees of holiness, or, first purifies, and 
then fills the soul of the fallen and depraved. But 
with sinners like men, it has an office to perform 
to which it is not called in its relations to other 
beings. Impediments are to be removetl ; the 
* Uphara's Interior Life. 



PURE GOLD. 261 

heart must be dispossessed of the love of sin : the 
prone nature of the vicious must be assisted to 
stand upright : in a word, man must be redeemed 
from sinful bondage, and cleansed froQi moral de- 
filement, before religion can fully possess him, and 
lead him into the higher regions of spiritual life — 
to exalted holiness, and eternal union with God. 
With those who have incurred guilt, this work 
of restoration must commence with repentance. 
Nothing that may be denominated religious ex- 
perience can be genuine, unless preceded by re- 
pentance, which produces hatred and abandon 
ment of sin, and leads to vital faith in the atone 
ment. An experience not strongly marked by 
these features is spurious, and can inspire no valid 
hopes of eternal hfe. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PRACTICAL RELIGIOX. RELATIONS AND DUTIES OF MAN. HARMONY 

OF RELIGION AS TO DOCTRINES AND DUTIES. PRACTICAL RELIGION 

INCLUDES DUTIES TO GOD ; DUTIES TO OURSELVES ; DUTIES TO MEN 

GENERALLY; DUTIES TO THE STATE. CIVIL GOVERNMENT FROM 

GOD. — TO "WHAT EXTENT MEN ARE BOUND BY THE ENACTMENTS OF 
THE STATE. DR. DICK. CLOSING REMARKS, 

" Angels are round the good man, to catch the incense of his prayers, 
And they fly to minister kindness to those for whom he pleadeth," 

TUPPER. 

"Man should dare all things that he knows are right, 
And fear to do no act save what is wrong; 
But guided safely by the inward light, 
And with a permanent beUef, and strong. 
In Him who is our Father and our Friend, 
He should walk steadfastly unto the end." 

Ph(Ebe Caret. 

True religion is practical. It is active benev- 
olence. As we have seen, the v^ord implies obli- 
gation. This obligation supposes relations, and 
duties arising from these relations. Our relations 
to God are first, highest, and most sacred. We 
are bound to love and obey him, at all times, un- 
der all circumstances, and regardless of conse- 
quences. But as v^e are social beings, we sustain 



PURE GOLD. 263 

Other relations, and other obligations are imposed. 
Our secondary relations and obligations accord 
perfectly with those that are first and highest. 
As the principles and facts of religion are per- 
fectly harmonious, so are its duties. Each duty 
agrees with the whole, and the whole is consistent 
with every part. In practice, as in principles and 
facts, religion is a unity. 

As God is the highest form of goodness, and re- 
ligion is the embodiment of his benevolence, like 
its glorious author it diffuses happiness wherever 
its claims are acknowledged. In revealing it to 
man he designs to confer upon him an infinite 
good. Y/hile man receives and enjoys the happi- 
ness imparted by this gift, under its inspirations 
and obligations he should actively engage in every 
work which will glorify God, and advance the 
happiness of his species. With this agrees the 
teaching of him who spoke as never man spoke. 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart." " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy- 
self." " Render therefore unto Caesar, the things 
which are Cesar's, and unto God the things that 
are God's." These words of Christ comprehend 
all our obligations and duties as Christians, to God, 
to men as individuals, and to the state. The 



264 PRACTICAL RELIGION. 

whole of practical religion may be comprised in 
the following particulars. 

First. — Duties we owe to God. These are a 
solemn and emphatic recognition of his existence 
and claims upon us, in appropriate outward acts 
of worship, as ordained by him — the cultivation 
of pious feelings towards him — an implicit and 
cordial obedience to his will in abstaining from 
all he has forbidden, and a cheerful performance of 
every requirement of his law. But the chief duty 
we owe to God is the cultivation of devout feelings, 
and a constant aim to be like him in the elements 
of our moral character. We call this the chief, 
because it is the source from whence all others flow. 
If we have pious, and devout feelings and affections, 
that is if we love God with supreme affection, we 
shall as a natural consequence seek to please him, 
to advance his glory in every way indicated by 
his will, and conscientiously perform every divine 
duty. But on the other hand, were we able to 
meet every other requirement of God upon us, 
and yet fail in the state of our feelings and affec- 
tions, we should do nothing to purpose : we could 
not receive the approbation of God. " Though I 
speak with the tongues of men and angels — and 
though I have the gift of prophecy, and under- 



PURE GOLD. 265 

stand all mysteries, and all knowledge ; and though 
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, 
* * # g^^fj^ though I bestow all my goods to feed 
the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, 
and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing,"* 

God should always be regarded as the most in- 
teresting and lovely being in the entire universe. 
There is no being so worthy, noae to whom we 
are so deeply indebted — none from whom we have 
so much to expect. We may have a subordinate 
affection for other objects : we may love them in 
the proportion that they resemble God, and will 
assist us to glorify him, but in every case our su- 
preme love should centre in Him. The following 
language of the poet, Watts, should be verified by 
constant experience : — 

" Tliou art the sea of love, 
Where all my pleasures roll : 
The circle where my passions move, 
And centre of my souL" 

Secondly. — Duties we owe to ourselves. It is 

true, the man who reveres and loves God, and is 

careful to please him, will not be careless relative 

to his personal salvation. But it may be well as 

far as practicable, to consider our obligations to 

* Paul. 
23 



266 PRACTICAL RELIGION-. 

ourselves, apart from all others. We are " fear- 
fully and wonderfully made." God has given us 
a nature susceptible of the highest happiness, or 
of perpetual and untold misery. Were there no 
danger of incurring divine displeasure, it would 
yet be a very high and imperative duty to under- 
stand the powers and wants of our constitution, 
lest by disregarding its demands or infracting its 
laws we inflict upon ourselves an irreparable in- 
jury. But living as we do, under divine author- 
ity, it becomes a religious duty to enhance our 
own interest and happiness, by the best use we 
can possibly make of all the advantages God has 
given us. In this our interest is conjoined with 
duty.. God enforced attention to duties which 
seem to relate wholly or principally to ourselves?, 
by the most commanding motives, only that he 
may confer upon us a greater and more perma- 
nent good. A proper regard to physical health — 
a judicious disposition of time — and diligence in 
disciplining the mind, and improving it with va- 
ried and useful Ivnowledge, are practical duties 
which must have a decided bearing upon our 
moral character and happiness. But beside this, 
v.'e have a moral nature, which as religious beings 
we are specially bound to guard, develop, and culti- 



PUEE GOLD. 267 

vate. Great care and vigilance siiould mark our 
attention to the interests of the soul. We should 
seek that moral renovation which our sins and 
depravity have rendered necessary, and the mer- 
ciful provisions of the gospel have placed within 
our reach. Our motto should be holiness in heart 
and in life. No duty or effort within our power, 
should be regarded in the light of a sacrifice if it 
be a mean to the attainment of this end. Noth- 
ing should be wanting on our part, (as nothing 
will be on the part of God,) that Vv^e may secure 
the highest grade of virtue — the greatest possible 
maturity in a well-balanced Christian character. 

Thirdly. — Duties to our brother man. We are 
social beings, and must fulfil social obligations. 
God as Creator, is the common Parent of all. 
Besides, we are alike descended from the same 
great progenitor, Adam, who in another sense, is 
the common Father of all mankind. Our rela- 
tions to each other are those which subsist be- 
tween the m.embers of a large family which has 
spread its branches extensively, though all tra- 
cing their genealogy to the same common source. 

In an important sense, therefore, we are breth- 
ren ; and though the multiplied branches of this 
great family are marked with that variety of cir- 



268 PRACTICAL EELIGION. 

cumstance and appearance which is a character- 
istic of all God's works, yet we possess substan- 
tially the same constitution : the same blood runs 
in our veins, we have the same natural rights, and 
the same natural interest in the improvement and 
happiness of the race. This relation by creation 
and common parentage, imposes on us the obli- 
gation of mutual sympathy, kindness, and benev- 
olence. As every member of human society de- 
rives benefits from his social connections, he is 
bound to contribute his share towards promoting 
the health, happiness, and prosperity of the whole. 
He does not live without the aid of others, and he 
should cheerfully yield his aid in return. To this 
course true religion obliges him. "Bear ye one 
another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." 
Our natural relations sanction these obligations, 
and require these mutual acts of sympathy and 
friendship : but, as Christians, there are special 
enactments binding us to these duties. They are 
enforced by our condition as redeemed subjects 
of his moral government. " Ye are not your own, 
ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God 
in your bodies and spirits which are his." 

This implies that we hold all our natural and 
acquired advantages entirely at the divine dis- 



PUEE GOLD. 269 

posal. Have we personal accomplishments ? God 
gave them, and Christ redeemed them. They 
should not excite pride and vanity, but increase 
our gratitude and usefulness. Have we intellec- 
tual endowments ? Our mental powers and intel- 
lectual acquireiiients are not our own, in any 
sense that will justify the use of them for pur- 
poses which exclude duty to God and benevo- 
lence to man. Have we wealth and influence? 
God has given them that we may be furnished 
with the means of extensive good to others. Such 
are expected and required to act the part of stew- 
ards in an exalted sense — to act a more noble and 
godlike part than falls to the common lot of men. 
They should be secondary suns in the moral 
heavens — having replenished their fires from the 
great central luminary, they should pour their 
light and heat upon the darkness and coldness of 
the world. They should form a centre of attrac- 
tion whose most powerful magnet is their moral 
and practical likeness to the divine and benevo- 
lent Christ. 

As members of social life, our intercourse with 

others should proceed upon the principle that man 

is man by the endowments of creation, and not 

by adventitious circumstances. True religion 

23* 



270 PEACTICAL RELIGION. 

recognizes the natural equality of all men. The 
measure of our own rights is the measure of the 
rights of others. " Therefore, all things whatso- 
ever ye would that men should do unto you, do 
ye even so to them, for this is the law and the 
prophets." Distinctions which o.perate a viola- 
tion of natural rights, on whatever pretence set 
up, whether upon birth, wealth, or education, are 
unknown, alike to the laws of nature and the pre- 
cepts of true religion, and in the highest degree 
impious and abominable. While we are unyield- 
ing in the maintenance of our God-given bless- 
ings, and in demanding that human nature should 
be duly honored in our own person, we should be 
as prompt and cordial in granting as in receiving 
the homage due to man. Indeed it should be one 
of the chief aims of life to remove the obstacles 
to human happiness, and as far as our ability will 
avail for such a purpose, to confer upon others the 
blessings we claim for ourselves, and which be- 
long by the ordination of God to all mankind. 

Fourthly. — The duties we owe to the state. 
Without doubt there are features in the organiza- 
tion of human society which would never have 
existed — never have been needed, — if the disposi- 
tions and powers of men had never been pervert- 



PURE GOLD. 271 

ed and misdirected by sin. Whether any form 
of civil government would have been instituted 
had original innocence continued, is a question 
we need not now discuss. The fact of the pres- 
ent existence of civil organization and authority, 
and that it is " ordained of God," is of greater im- 
portance, and should elicit attention. How far 
God ordains and sanctions existing laws and 
forms of government, are inquiries which deserve 
sober thought, since it is only by correctly under- 
standing the principles involved, that we can 
know the measure of our obligation and duty. 
As we look at the subject, it may be comprised 
in the following statements : — • 

1. God has authorized civil government. Iq 
this sense we understand Paul, when he says, 
" The powers that be are ordained of God." God 
has not made any particular form of government 
obligatory, either in church or state : he has 
given men the general principles of government, 
but has left them free to give such form and char- 
acter to government as in their judgment will 
best suit their condition and circumstances, pro- 
viding they enact nothing contrary to the higher 
laws of the divine government. 

2. The objects of human government may be 



272 PRACTICAL RELIGION. 

embraced in three particulars : to secure to men 
their rights, liable to be invaded in this fallen and 
selfish world : to restrain impiety and crime : and 
to command attention to those personal and rela- 
tive duties essential to the well-being of society, 
and the general happiness and improvement of 
the human race. It is therefore said, by the same 
inspired authority, that civil authority is ordained 
to be the " minister of God to (us) for good." Its 
legitimate aim is to benefit the whole, in harmony 
with the interests of each, and not to pamper the 
few at the expense of the many. 

3 So long as civil government acknowledges 
divine control, and keeps to its appropriate office 
and work as the " minister of God for good" to 
all its subjects, it has divine sanction, and its en- 
actments are clothed with divine authority. It is 
the duty of all who are blessed with such govern- 
ment and laws to be "subject unto the higher 
powers" — to honor and obey the laws, to con- 
tribute cheerfully of their substance, to maintain 
order and efficiency in the administration, and 
give practical effect to all its lawful and benevo- 
lent aims. 

4. As civil government has no valid authority 
to enact, or enforce law, except as derived from 



PUEE GOLD. 273 

God, and as God, being infinitely righteous, can- 
not give his sanction to any form of unrighteous- 
ness, hence when government produces laws, or 
adopts measures subversive of morality, and de- 
structive of those personal and inalienable rights, 
derived from God, and which it is the chief busi- 
ness of civil rule to guard and defend, it forfeits 
its divine charter, and is not entitled to respect 
or obedience from man. It is in a state of re- 
bellion against the general administration of Je- 
hovah, and to sanction it is to approve the act, 
and share the guilt of disloyalty to God. 

5. All subjects of government, especially those 
blessed with a knowledge of true religion, are 
morally hound to be loyal and obedient : they 
should do more ; they should be zealous and ac- 
tive in defending and sustaining rulers, who, act- 
ing within the sphere of their prerogatives, are 
aiming at wise and beneficent ends. But the 
same morality which binds them to this course in 
the circumstances here described, also demands a 
prompt refusal of obedience, and firm though 
temperate resistance to all acts of tyranny, par- 
ticularly those which encourage impiety, and rob 
individuals guilty of no crime, of their dearest 



274 PRACTICAL RELIGION. 

personal rights, " life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness." 

" The jus divinum of governments, (says Dr. 
Dick,) when rationally explained, can only mean 
that lawful governments have a right to demand 
the obedience of the subjects, and that it is the 
will of God that the subjects should submit to 
their authority. * * * * Xhe duty of sub- 
jects is to obey ' every ordinance of man for the 
Lord's sake,' to 'render to all their dues — tribute 
to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, 
fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.' The 
duty of civil rulers is to enact just laws, and to 
execute them impartially ; to be the guardian of 
the rights of their subjects, to maintain order and 
peace, to patronize arts and sciences, to encour- 
age virtue and discourage vice, so far as their 
lawful influence extends : to be the fathers of 
their people, and thus merit their respect and wil- 
ling obedience. The obedience of subjects, like 
that of servants, is restrained by the law of God. 
When civil rulers presume to command what he 
has forbidden, or to forbid what he has command- 
ed, they become rebels against the King of kings, 
and have no claim to our homage."* 

* Dick's Theology. 



PUEE GOLD. 275 

We conclude this chapter with three re- 
marks : — 

First. — The morality and practice arising from 
true religion are distinguished from that cold, 
philosophic indifference, with which the infidel, 
and the mere theorist in religion, looks upon the 
woes and wants of humanity. Such neither un- 
derstand themselves nor others. They live to no 
purpose. They know nothing of the luxury of 
doing good. 

" Oh, there is need that on such hearts should fall, 
A spuit that can sympathize with alL" 

Secondly. — It stands at an equal distance from 
that strange combination of mysticism and mo- 
nasticism, which has deluded many with the no- 
tion that temporal duties, and intercourse with 
society, are incompatible with communion with 
God and the cultivation of virtue. Controlled by 
this infatuation, thousands have fled to perpetual 
seclusion from the world, and lived 

" A strict monastic life, a saint alive and dead." 

Clothing themselves, by unnatural austerities and 
habitual melancholy, with a repulsive and ghostly 
sanctity, they are as unhappy in themselves as 
they are useless to their fellow- men. 



276 PRACTICAL RELIGION. 

Thirdly. — The practice of true religion is ac- 
tive Christian benevolence. It is Christianity 
expansive and diffusive. It is the true light, ele- 
vated and shining. It is Christ in the persons of 
his disciples, going about doing good. It is the 
good tree, green, flourishing, and bearing fruit 
every month, the leaves of which are "for the 
heahng of the nations." 



COXCLUSIOK 

"When we have hoped, sought, striven, lost our aim, 
Then the truth fronts us, beaming out of darkness, 
Like a white brow thi-ough its o'ershadowing hair." 

Bailey's Festus. 

We have now conducted this discussion of 
principles and facts, fundamental to true religion, 
to a point where it may properly be brought to a 
close. Several topics more or less important, ac- 
cording to their relative position in the system of 
revealed truth, have been designedly omitted. The 
most of these, however, perhaps all, together with 
the reasons for them, will be readily inferred by 
the intelligent reader, from what has been consid- 
ered and established. Greater particularity or 
detail would have been incompatible with the ob- 
ject of this work, which is to present a bold out- 
line of the true religious system, as to its first and 
essentia] principles. A careful perusal of the fore- 
going chapters, will, we think, assist the candid 
reader in the following particulars : — 
24 



278 CONCLUSION. 

First. — In deciding the question, " What is 
truth ?'' That there is a God, of infinite power, 
wisdom, goodness, and holiness — that religion can- 
not be true unless derived from him — that being 
derived from him, it must reveal his character, 
and agree with his attributes — that as Creator and 
governor, the rectitude of his character and the 
good of his subjects require a revelation of his 
law, with the motives to obedience — are predi- 
cates in respect to which few will be found to 
differ. Thus far, depravity, selfishness, and pride 
of opinion have little room for play. But there 
are other truths not so obvious. The nature of 
the divine government — the inspiration of the 
Scriptures — the immortality of the soul, belong 
to a class which must be investigated as to the 
facts and arguments on which they rest, and as 
to their relative positions, before the mind can ac- 
quiesce in a satisfactory conclusion. Yet the 
mind may, by a proper collation of proofs, become 
as fully and entirely satisfied in respect to this 
class of truths, as that which has more that is ob- 
vious upon its first face. Every truth is connect- 
ed with evidence sufficient to sustain its verity. 
This would always be seen by the honest mind, 
were enough of patience and intelligence employ- 



PURE GOLD. ^ 279 

ed to penetrate the subject until a clear percep- 
tion of it is gained. When this is done, the fact 
or doctrine is not only seen to be true in itself, 
but to agree with all else that we know as true. 

Secondly. — In discovering and admiring the 
harmony of the system of true religion. There 
is no discord in the domain of truth. There may 
be confusion and incongruity in our perceptions 
of principles and facts, but nothing of this inheres 
in the nature of truth. Many errors have arisen 
from considering facts and doctrines separately, 
and disjoined from their proper relations. The 
beauty and force of some truths can only be 
rightly apprehended when they are viewed as 
parts of a system with which they harmonize. 
And there is no less agreement in the moral than 
in the natural world — " As truly in God's reveal- 
ed word, is there an intrinsic order and beauty, 
an inner law which combines the whole into sys- 
tematic unity, as in the works of God which are 
thrown in such profusion over the heavens above, 
and upon the earth beneath us. It is the business 
of the philosopher of nature to find those laws by 
which all her facts are bound up into a system, 
and in which they can be expounded as rational 
and intelligible ; nor is there any science until this 



280 COXCLUSION. 

work is executed, and the isolated facts are there- 
by made to assume both consistency and unity. 
And it is no more a rash intrusion within the sa- 
cred enclosure of God's secret counsels, nor any 
more an unauthorized intermeddling with sacred 
things to go reverently into the field of divine 
revelation, and gather its separate truths, and 
combine them into system, according to their re- 
lations, than it is to go out and explore nature, 
and put the facts of God's work together in scien- 
tific order and unity."* 

When religious doctrines are seen, not merely 
as true in themselves, but as agreeing with, and 
constituting essential parts of a system of truth, it 
is no longer admissible to deal with them as sep- 
arate propositions : they cannot be rejected upon 
less testimony than would suffice for rejecting the 
whole system of which they are elements. In the 
preceding discussions, we have aimed to show 
that each doctrine considered is so united with 
every other one, and with the whole combined 
into a perfect system, as to be sustained by the 
entire body of proof by which the system itself is 
supported. 

Thirdly. — This view of the nature, relations, 

* Dr. Hickok. 



PUEE GOLD. 281 

and harmonies of true religion, as to its first and 
fundamental truths, will, if properly understood, 
assist to detect spurious facts, false principles, and 
counterfeit religion. When the mind clearly per- 
ceives that a given proposition is true, it perceives 
as clearly, that whatever conflicts with it must be 
false. Thus, if it be true that there is a God, the 
doctrine of atheism must be false — if it be true 
that God has established a moral government, it 
follows men are moral agents, and the doctrine 
of fatality is false — if it be true that the Scriptures 
contain a revelation of the will of God to man, it 
is clear that a religion which excludes the Bible, 
and is based entirely on the light of nature, is, 
though true in some of its principles, so defective, 
that as a system it must be false. So also, the 
true idea of the soul's immortality being estabhsh- 
ed, the mind at once perceives and rejects the 
various forms of materialism. The vicarious 
atonement of Christ, and justification by faith, 
will at once suggest to the intelligent reader, the 
falsity of any system of religion which makes the 
natural righteousness of man, or repentance, or 
punishment, or a course of moral discipline, the 
ground of acceptance and salvation for sinners : 
while the necessity of regeneration arising from 
24* 



282 CONCLUSION. 

the scriptural doctrine of depravity will demon- 
strate how untrue and dangerous is that religious 
scheme, the offspring of human pride, which 
maintains the natural perfectibility of man. We 
see not how the system of true religion can possi- 
bly exist upon a narrower doctrinal basis than that 
laid down in this work, or how any one of these 
main principles can be yielded without materially 
effecting, if not entirely subverting the gospel. 
The nature, relations, and mutual connections of 
these doctrines should be carefully studied and 
thoroughly understood. To minds familiar with 
these first principles, it is an easy task to detect 
error, ho W' ever subtle, or however plausible the 
garb in which it may appear. 

" Truth crushed to earth shall rise again, 
The eternal years of God are hers ; 
But error wounded, writhes in pain, 
And dies among his worshippers." 

Beyant s Poems. 



BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY & MILLER. 

Headley's Women of the Bible: Historical and 
descriptive sketches of the Women of the Bible, as maidens, 
wives, and mothers; from Eve of the Old, to the Marys of 
the New Testament: by Rev. P. C. Headley, in one 12mo. 
volume, illustrated — uniform with "Headley's Sacred 
Mountains." $1,25. 

The author of this work possesses enough traits of resemblance to the author of 
the Sacred Mountains, to leave no doubt of his right to the name of Headley. There 
is much of that spirited descriptive power, which has made the elder brother a 
popular favorite, and gives promise of a successful career on his own account. The 
Bketches are brief, and embody all the historic incidents recorded of them. — New 
York Evangelist. 

A younger brother of J. T. Headley is the author of this beautiful volume. It will 
probably have a larger circulation than the splendid work issued last fall by the . 
Messrs. Appleton, being better adapted for the general reader, in form and price, 
while it is ornamental enough for the centre table. It contains nineteen descriptive 
bipgraphical sketches, arranged in chronological order, including nearly all the 
distinguished women of the sacred armals, and forming an outline of Scripture 
histofy. The illustrations are from original designs, and are numerous and appro- 
priate. No ordinary powers of imagination and expression are shown in the vivid 
and picturesque descriptions ; and the fine portraitures of character rivet the 
interest, and set forth the Scripture delineations in a stronger light. Li this respect 
the book has no rival, for no other is so complete, following so closely at the same 
time, the sacred narrative. We hope it is but an earnest of other works from the 
pen of its gifted author. — Home Journal. 

We were so struck with tlie title of this work, and the prepossessing appearance 
of its typography, that we have so far departed from the usual course adopted in 
like cases, as to read carefully the work in liand, before recommending it to our 
readers. And we are prepared to say, that a more attractive volume has not fallen 
in our way for a long time. It is made up of brief historical and descriptive eulogies 
of the most remarkable females of a most extraordinary era in the world's history. 
The author has appropriated very much of the poetry and romance of the Bible, in 
the sketches he has given of nineteen women, who have come down to us through 
their peculiar merits, embalmed in sacred inspiration. Whoever reads the story of 
Sarah, the beautiful Hebrew maiden, the admiration of the Chaldean shepherds and 
the pride of her kindred ; or of Rebecca, whom the " faithful steward of Abraham " 
journeyed to the land of Nahor and selected as the bride of Isaac, and who, it is 
eaid, " was very fair to look upon ;" or of Rachel, the beautiful shepherdess who 
tended her father's flocks in the valley of Haran ; or of Merriam, Deborah, .leptha's 
Daughter, Delilah, Ruth, Queen of Sheba, the Shunamite, Esther, Elizabeth, Virgin 
Mary, Dorcas, and others — will read a story far more interesting and attractive thaa 
any romance or novel. Every young lady in town should read this work ; and we 
will venture to say that they will do so if they but once get hold of it, for it is a book 
tiiat cannot be laid aside.— Oswego Times. 



BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY <k MILLER. 

The Lives of Mary and' Martha, mother and 
wife of Washington : by Margaret C. Conkiing, 
with a steel porti-ait, 18mo, scarlet cloth. 

Miss Coxkling, who is a daughter ef Judge CoiikUng of Auburn, is favorably 
known as the auihor of Harpers translation of '" Florian's History of the Moors 
of Spain." She also wrote '' Isabel, or the Trials of the Heart." Li the preparatieii 
of the pretty little volume she has done a praiseworthy deed, and we hope she will 
receive the reward she merits. She has taught us in the work 
" how divine a thing 
A woman may be made." 

The mother and wife of Washington were, in many respects, model women, and 
the daughters of America will do well to study their character — whicii is tiueiy 
drawn on these pages. — Literary Messenger. 

This beautifully printed and elegantly bound little work, reflecting the highest 
credit upon the skill and task of the publishers, contains biographical sketches of 
Mary, the mother, and Martha, (he wile of the Father of his couniry. It is a most 
valuable contribution to the history of the American people, embracing not only ihe 
great public events of the century during which the subjects lived, but those pictures 
of home life, and that exhibition of social manners and customs, which constitute 
the most important part of life, but which, from the fact of their apparent triviality 
and intangibility, the historian generally passes over. The authoress evidently 
sympathises earnestly with her subject, and feels that in the exliibition ot iliose 
womanly virtues which characterized the heroines of her narrative, she makes the 
most eloquent plea in favor of the dignity of her sex. It is dedicated to Mrs. Wm 
H. Seward, and contains a finely executed engraving of the wife of Washington. 
We cordially commend it to the public, and most especially our lady readers.— 
Syracuse Journal. 

This acceptable and well written volume goes forth upon a happy mission, 

" To teach us how divine a thing 

A woman may be made," 
by unfolding those charms of character which belong to the mother and wife of the 
hero of the Land of the Free ; and in the companionship of which, while they illus- 
trated the watchful tenderness of a mother, and the confiding afleciions of a wife, 
is shown those influences which made up the moral sentiments of a man, whose 
moral grandeur will bs felt in all that, is future in govenmient or divine in 
philosophy ; and one whose name is adored by all nations, as the leader of man in 
in the progress of government, to that perfection of human rights where all enjoy 
liberty and equality. To say that Miss Conkiing has fulfilled the task she says a 
" too partial friendship has assigned her " faultlessly, would perhaps be too 
unmeasured praise, for perfection is seldom attained; but it will not be denied but 
that her biographies are traced in the chaste elegances that belong to the finished 
periods of a refined style, which fascinates the reader with what she has thus contri- 
buted to our national literature. 

The design of the volume is, to picture a mother fitting the " Father of his 
Country " in a light full of the inexhaustible nobleness of woman's nature, and yet 
as possessing that subdued and quiet simplicity, where Truth becomes the Hope on 
which Failh looks at the future with a smile. The mother of Washington was 
tried in a school of practice where frugal habits and active industry were combined 
with the proverbial excellences of those Virginia matrons, who were worthy mothers 
of such men as Washington, Jefl[erson, Marshall, and Henry. Miss C. has pictured 
with fidelity and elegance, her views of this remarkable woman ; not less beauti- 
fully has she sketched the character of Martha, the wife ; following her from her 
brilliant manners as the Virgima belle, through the various phases of her life, she 
gives a rapid but comprehensive view of those characteristics which make up the 
quiet refinement of manners native to her, and which ever gave her the reputation 
of an accomplished wife and lady. And with peculiar delicacy Miss Conkiing has 
portrayed the thousand virtues with which she embellished a home ; her amiable 
disposition and winning manners made the happiest to the purest and best of all 
jiea fame has chosen for its noblest achievments.— Syracuse Star. 



BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY «fe MILLER. 

The Odd Fellows' Amulet : or the principles of Odd 
Fellowship defined ; the objections to the order answered ; 
and its advantages maintained ; with an address to the pub- 
lic, the ladies, and the order. By Rev. D. W. Bristol, Pas- 
tor of the M. E. Church, and P. G. of Osco Lodge, ]^o. 304, 
at Auburn, K Y. 

The Rev. Mr. Bristol, the author of the above work, is a popular clergyman of the 
Methodist church. He appears to have written the work not merely for Odd Fellows, 
but to disabuse the public mind, if possible, of prejudices formed against the Order. 
A spirit and design of apparent sincerity appears to pervade the entire work, and the 
writer discusses his themes and meets the objections urged against Odd Fellows, with 
a great deal of candor and respect. No person, we think, can read it, whatever may 
have been his prejudices hitherto, without Iiaving those prejudices at least, conside- 
rably softened, if not wholly taken away. The style of the writer is captivating, 
v?hile the arrangement and classification of his subjects adds interest to the volume. 
We have no hesitancy in recommending the Amulet as a book that may be read by 
the public. — Genesee Evangelist. 

We have wiled away several hours pleasaatly and profitably in its perusal, and can 
recommend it as a work deserving of a large circulation. The principles of the Or- 
der are set forth by its author, the Rev. D. W. Bristol, a distinguished Methodist 
clergyman, in a masteiMy manner, objections instituted by many to the Order, are 
fairly tested, and answered in a mild and satisfactory way. It is a cheap and useful 
work, and we cheerfully recommend it to public favor. — Mirror of the Times. 

Able and exceedingly interesting articles, that we would most cordially commend 
to the attention of every reader, while we are gratified at being able to bring them 
under the notice of members of the great Order. The work contains also Addresses 
by Rev. D. W. Bristol, and is embellished with several fine Steel Engravings. Fully 
and correctly defining the principles of O. F., it should fill a niche in the library of 
every Odd Fellow, where it will furnish a mine of valuable, matter whence he can 
draw at all times for the facts illustrative of the great principles of the noble institu- 
tion of Odd Fellowship. — Golden Rule. 

It is an excellent work, and worthy of the patronage of the Order. The objection."? 
often urged against our institution, are most thoroughly examined, and ably answer- 
ed. The book is got up in good style, and is offered at a low price.— T'Ae Ark. 

We should think that every lover of the Order which this book upholds would 
adorn his library with it ; and every person that is opposed to it should also have 
one so that they could see their objections answered. We would say to every lover 
of the poor and afflicted, buy one and peruse it for yourselves and see what the Odd 
Fellows do for them. Its motto is " Do unto others as ye would have others do unto 
jou."—The Bee. 

This is a clear, forcible, and well written exposition of the subjects above named ; 
and a book that every Odd Fellow in the country should be in possession of. Tho 
work is well got up, and embellished with several fine engravings appropriate to the 
Bubject of which it treats. It is sold at the low price of one dollar, and can be mailed 
to any part of the United States.— Banner of the Union. 



BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY & MILLER. 

The Young Man's Book : or Lectures for the Times. 
By William W. Patton. One 12mo. vol. 

The lectures contained in this volume are not made up of merely common place 
remarks. They are elevated in sentiment, chaste in style, and impressive in manner. 
No [jerson who reads the volume can fail to profit by it, or to admire the evangelical 
views and elegant language of the author. The work deserves to be a favorite with 
young men. — Northern Christian Advocate. 

It is a genial, earnest, manly book. The author is himself a remarkable example 
tif independent thinking and philanthropic feeling. The bugle note which he sounds 
to young men is no uncertain sound. He goes with his whole soul for bettering the 
worltl, where he thinks it bad, and few of the young men who heard his lectures or 
shall read his bonk, will not be strongly inclined to go with him. We cordially advise 
all young men who are anxious to do and be something in this universe, to cultivate 
an acquaintance with Mr. Patton or his book. —^os^on Chronotype. 

There are seven lectures in this volume devoted to subjects rather unusual in a 
work of this kind, and having the impress of earnest feeling and reflection. That 
some of the points are overstated does not detract from the exceeding value and im- 
portance of most of the views presented— all the more important because so infre- 
quently attended to in the pulpit, or in works designed for the young. The book ia 
written in a perspicuous and forcible style, and both from its matter and spirit is 
likely to become popular and uselul. — New York Evangelist. 

This is an excellent book— excellent in its purpose, in its execution, and in ita 
adaptation to the present day. In some respects this book differs from all kindred 
works that we have seen. As a writer Mr. Patton is lucid, earnest, and direct, never 
obscure and seldom other than forcible. Regarded merely as a literary performance 
we must pronounce thei;e lectures highly creditable. Their timely and important 
moral inculcations shoidd commend them more especially to the friends of religion 
and entitle them to a place in every christian household. — Charier Oak. 

These are able and earnest lectures to young men, delivered to the author's con- 
gregation in Hartford, and contain many valuable considerations and glowing appeal3 
to rouse the youth to diligence, courage, and faith in the struggle of life. — New York 
Observer. 

The counsels, warnings, and encouragements, to the young, contained in this vol- 
ume, are, as designed, adapted to the times. It is interesting in its style as well as 
matter, and cannot fail to profit that class to whom it is addressed. — The {Boston) 
Puritan. 

The author of these lectures is himself a young man. He has addressed those of 
his own age, not with the stern reproof or grave counsel of a father, but with the af- 
fectionate'entreaty, kind, yet faithful warning of a brother. The subjects of the lec- 
tures are judiciously selected and cannot fail of doing good to those who are soon to 
bear the burdens and responsibilities of society.— i>'os/o/i Recorder. 

A volume of lectures, seven in number, on subjects of vast importance, and writ- 
ten with much force. The book will profit those who read it. — New York Commer- 
cial Advertiser. 

The lectures were delivered on Sabbath evenings to densely crowded audiences, 
and were spoken of in terms of high praise at the time. At the request of many who 
heard them they are now published. The lectures are valuable, containing a vast 
amount of good advice and information for that class of persons for whom they were 
originally designed, and in a time like the present, when pernicious literature ap- 
pears to be the order of the day, they arc still more acceptable. — (^Hartford) Chris- 
tian Secretary. 

We can positively say that the object of the work is nnost praiseworthy, the sub- 
jects treated of are important, the counsels it contains are weighty, and are enforced 
in a happy style with a spirit well calculated to gain the attention of those who are 
addressed. — Hartford iCt.) Courant. 

In design and execution it is worthy to go side by side with the late popvlar aru' 
widely circulated work known as Beacher's Lectures to Young Men. The fifth lee 
ture is well suited to our columns and wc hope to give it a place ere long. — N. Y 
Advocate and Family Guardian. 



BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY & MILLER. 

Golden Steps to Respectability, Usefulness and 
Happiness ; being a series of Lectures to the youth of 
both sexes on Character, Principles, Associates, Amuse- 
ments, Religion, and Marriage. By John Mather Austin. 
Derby, Miller & Co., Auburn, 1850. 243 pp. 

The author of this book is a writer of superior attraction, and has here selected a 
subject of deep interest. Could the youth of the country be induced to exchange the 
Buntline, Lippard, and Ingraham literature of the day, for such reading as this, the 
benefits to themselves and society would be incalculable. — Lockport Courier. 

We honor the heart of the writer of this volume as well as his head. He has here 
addressed an earnest and manly appeal to the young, every page of which pioves his 
sincerity and his desire for their welfare. The subjects treated of in the differeat lec- 
tures are those indicated on the title page. Integrity and virtue, usefulness, truth 
and honor, are the " Golden Steps " by which the young may ascend to respectability,' 
usefulness, and happiness. We trust the seed thus sown will not be without its fruit, 
and that his readers will imbibe the spirit of the motto he has chosen— 
" Onward ! onward 1 toils despising, 
Upward ! upward 1 turn thine eyes, 
Only be content when rising, 
Fix thy goal amid the skies." 
—Albany State Register. 

Tlie work of Mr. Austin, written in a pleasing style, and nervous and pointed in ita 
argumentation, will hold a prominent position among the fortunate endeavors by 
which the rising generation are to be influenced. The volume before us is beautiful 
in its exterior, and this, combined with the aim of the author, in which he has admi- 
rably succeeded, will give it a wide range, and secure for it, we hope, an invaluable 
influence, — Buffalo Christian Advocate. 

A plain, familiar, forcible exposition of the duties and responsibilities of Youth, 
which can hardly be read without exerting a salutary and lasting influence. Judging 
from the popularity of air. Austin's former works, we predict fof it a wide circula- 
tion. — New York Tribune. 

If the precepts eloquently and forcibly urged in these pages could be brought homo 
and impressed upon the minds of the mass of youth m our land, they would confei 
lasting and incalculable benefits upon the rising generation. We cordially commend 
this work to the attention of the young and all who have charge of them. 

The publishers have executed their work admirable, and have brought out an ele- 
gant and beautiful book. Their work will compare favorably with any of the Ne\» 
York houses.— Troy Post. 

The following extract has reference to the " golden steps" of the President of th 
'"'■iited States, Millard Fillmore :— (See page 69.) 



BOOKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY DERBY & MILLER. 

The Missionary Ofiering, a memorial of Christ's 
Messengers in Heathen Lands, dedicated to Dr. Judson, 
8 engravings, 12mo., mushn. $1,25. 

We have seen no book cf late which, upon a hasty examination, we could more 
cheerfully and confidently recommend. The history of the labors of Missionaries 
in foreign lands has always been one of unsurpassed interest to a great class of every 
community, by whom such enterprizes are conducted, and in no similar work have 
we seen this history more ably and truthfully set forth than in the oie before us. — 
Buffalo Coi7imercial Advertiser. 

Here is a volume of about four hundred pages, neatly printed and illustrated, 
made up of the most interesting matter, from the pens of the first writers. Such a 
work cannot fail to interest. What a glorious band have cast aside the heart-cling- 
ing ties of home, country, and friends, and borne the peaceful emblem of Chris- 
tianity to the darkest climes. Bloody rites have ceased, the funeral flame is 
extinguished, the crushing car has ceased to roll, and mental and moral darkness 
has given away before the silent labors of the missionary. The records of such a 
history cannot but interest, revealing as tliey do, some of the sublimest features in 
the character of man — sacrifices and toils and triumphs, belore which the brightest 
achievements of earth dwindle into folly. — Cayuga Chief. 

The Missionary Offering is composed of poetical and prose writings of rare 
excellence, reminiscences and incidents connected with foreign and home missions, 
&c. We consider it a valuable and interesting book, especially to the Christian and 
philanthropist, and all who look upon the missionary enterprise as an institution, 
under the guidance of Providence, for the moral regeneration of the world.— Gewcra 
Gazette. 



Rational Psychology, or the subjective idea and the 
objective hiw of all intelligence: by Laurens P. Hickok, 
D. D., Professor of Christian Theology in the Theological 
Seminary, Auburn. 

The few, not the many, will find pleasure and improvement in the study of a 
treatise like this, discussing with much ability and research, indicative of close and 
) atient thought, the absti'use science of mind, and reaching principles by a ca:eful 
induction of well arranged and considered facts. The author has favorably intro- 
duced himself, in this work, to the thinking portion of the religious public, ar.d will 
calmly await the verdict of the learned world upon this elaborate performance. Ic 
is a handsomely printed octavo of 700 pages.—- N. Y. Observer. 



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